The Challenges ahead
by eeveemon123
Summary: This is a tf fic which I made that includes a boy who finds himself as a pokemon and has to adapt... enjoy (I'm not good at the summary ok! ;))
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: T****his is my first story, hope you like it, criticisms are welcome if they're constructive. Thank you I don't own Pokemon, but I do own Fraser and the characters that will follow. I have improved this since it first came out, so this is the updated/improved version. Happy times XD**

**BETA ****READING**** BY RedWingZero. Hi! This is my first Beta reading!**

**The Challenges Ahead**

**Chapter 1**

"Fraser, get up or you'll be late!" announced a voice that startled the teenager; thrusting himself out of his bed. "You know how much I hate it when people are late for me, so I expect they would like punctuality in return!" Today was the day that Fraser Blue would receive his first Pokemon, and become a fully-fledged pokemon trainer.

Fraser was 15, so was like a typical teenager when it came to waking up in the morning. "Agh... Okay, I'm up..."  
Then he remembered why his mother had got him up at the early hour of 8:00.

He got dressed into his clothes, and today he was wearing a scruffy, yet smart-looking blue t-shirt with the words on it saying "Chill guys, I've got this", and picturing a Meowth getting ready to fight a Wailord. He put on his jeans and groggily stumbled across the room to reach for his socks and shoes.

"Don't forget Fraser, you need to put on some body spray. You don't want to smell do you?" his mother nagged from downstairs. he walked over to the body spray.  
'I cannot wait to get away from her...' Fraser thought silently. He was the type of person that looked decent wearing anything, so it didn't matter what he wore. To many people, it was normal to see him wearing odd clothes, because they seemed to suit him fine.

Fraser casually walked out of his room, and briskly headed down the stairs to where he could get his breakfast, where he hears someone walking behind him; He stopped and turned round to see his younger sister, Sara. She gestured for him to get closer and as he did she sleepily whispered into his ear.

"I'm gonna miss you big brother!" and with that she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and followed him downstairs.

When he got downstairs he was welcomed with the sound of "chiic, torchic!". It was Wisp, the family's Torchic, though this was drowned out by the noise and commotion in the form of Weavile greeting him joyfully. "Wea vile vile We!". Weavile was his father's pokemon, until his was brutally murdered right before Fraser's eyes. The knife, the piercing scream and the look in his dad's eyes as all life fled from his body still made him shiver down to the core, but he had to let it go. The killer was caught, all of the drama was over, and today was a fresh start.

He sat down next to his sister, poured himself a drink and then, finally, tucked into his breakfast. His mother appeared with his small backpack, and it looked as if it had been filled to the brim.

"Why have you put that much stuff into it, Mum?You know I can just re-stock any time I need to at a Pokemart!" he ranted, while his mother just let the words fly pass. "Ah, don't worry.". She accepted that it was time to let go of Fraser. He was no longer a little boy, and now a proud young man.

Not even an hour later, Fraser was out the door, walking on his way through his home town, Solaceon town, for the last time in what he knew would be a while. When he came to the edge he almost wept at the sight of his house becoming fainter and more distant, and as his house faded on the horizon, so did the Daycare Center, where he had assisted its elderly employees many times.

'I know, I'll take the quick route through the forest rather than go through route 209. There's nothing interesting there...' Fraser thought to himself as he walked rather aimlessly. So, with that decision made, he began to wander towards forest, unfazed. When he was younger he always went to the forest to play with the more docile wild pokemon like the small Pikachu and the occasional Shinx, and the one day there was a Larvitar that was unusually friendly. However, that particular Pokemon was never seen again...

* * *

As Fraser strolled through the forest casually, he stopped to listen when he heard what he thought was a slight whimper, and as he shrugged and continued to walk, the whimper seemed to turn into a scream of shock, terror and pain. This was all Fraser could bear, and as he sprinted to the source until it was only metres away, he was shocked at what he saw.

A Larvitar was lying on its back, eyes open and dead, but Fraser couldn't see anything around that could've attacked it.

As he was staring in shock, a large hand yanked at Fraser's collar as he tried to scream for help. This, however, was the least of his worries, because when he stopped struggling he felt a sharp pain course through his body, and he noticed a long, cold, rusty blade that had torn through his chest to appear in front of his eyes, dripping with his blood.

As he was writhing in pain, he saw the killer's Magmortar set alight the Larvitar corpse as it stared lifeless at Fraser. He knew what was going to happen to him, so as the; large fire-type Pokemon approached, Fraser closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

Instead he received another sharp pain, but this time it struck his neck. Fraser's eyes jolted open and saw the killer waving a needle and syringe, empty, in his face. "Should've stayed at home kid!" laughed the mysterious killer, who then walked off triumphantly, talking to himself and returning his Pokemon.

Fraser felt anger build up inside and shouted "Is that all you got!?" towards the stranger, but he was ignored as the man disappeared from his view. "Why haven't I died yet?" he moaned, clutching his stomach, "Did that guy inject me with something that takes me longer to die?!"

Soon however, Fraser could feel nothing on his body, though it wasn't cold. He was numb and couldn't feel anything at all. When he looked down at his hands, they were darker and his palms started getting tougher, looking more puffed up than hardened. At his fingers, he could see fur sprouting out, thick, yet light brown fur growing rapidly like a horror movie. He then lifted up his shirt and saw that his whole body was now being covered by the mysterious fur. Soon, he was completely covered in it, and quickly after, felt an intense pulling sensation on his ears as if somebody was pulling them to the top of his head. They had the same pain within them as they lengthened out, and Fraser silently screamed through the excruciatingly painful process he was going through.

Suddenly he felt his skull split and change its shape; if ever there was the most painful moment in his life until that point in time; that was it. Yet all this continued, whilst he felt his arms change shape and his legs lose their knee caps as he fell into a quadrupled stance, and he was in so much pain he didn't realize that he was beginning to shrink. Once this was all finished, he could feel his organs rearrange themselves on the inside which made him dizzy until, finally, he passed out from the pain and exhaustion.

**A/N: ****I hope you enjoyed it. I'll update ASAP, so feel free to send any messages to help me out if I'm doing badly so I can improve. Until then, goodbye**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **most of this chapter will be in Fraser's POV and this chapter will hopefully be longer than the last enjoy. I was meant to say this last time I DON'T OWN POKÉMON, but I do own Fraser and Kudzu. As well as the killer. Enjoy chapter 2.

**Chapter 2**

**Fraser's POV**

**" Ugh, my head is killing me" I looked around and saw the pile of ash that was once a larvitar. My head was pounding, I didn't know how much longer I could stay awake. I was too dazed to even think about what had happened. I looked up and saw that it was now night time " but, I left at about nine in the morning. How long have I been out cold?" I wondered. And then it hit me, my near death experience, the pain I experienced, and then fainting. I sprang up and stood up. Only, when I tried to stand up I fell back down onto my chest, but when I landed it was softer than I had anticipated. Then as I remembered everything again, I tentatively looked down at my feet and saw paws, my feet were now paws! I was now an emotional wreck. At the same time I realised that I had something obstructing my view, and I then realised that I was whimpering. Again, I tried to stand up, but I was not used to having four legs, so I fell down again and broke into very loud cries. When I had finished wallowing in self pity, I decided to try again. I stood up, put my front right paw forward, but I made another mistake by putting my front left paw forwards as well, only succeeding in stretching my back and once again falling flat on my stomach. After successive failures I let out a light growl, which again startled me. However, I decided that I would have to keep trying, or else a pokemon like that magmortar would show up and see me as a potential victim for whatever schemes they had. For the first time in my life I felt completely vulnerable, so with that, I slowly stood up; about the only thing other than whimper that I could do at this point. I started by again moving my front right paw forward gingerly, then once I had thought about it, I moved my back left leg forward. " yes" I said in sheer jubilation that I had finally learnt how to walk. I slowly continued to walk through the forest, and noticed that in my desperation to walk that my hearing and sense of smell had been heightened (probably to compensate for the slightly worse sight). I heard a river flowing and decided that it was about time I had a drink. When I reached the edge of the river, I saw the water was moving very gently; just lightly tapping the rocks half submerged in its crystal clear depths, I leaned down to sip at the water, and when I drank I then found out how refreshing this cool running water was to me. "Hang on I can look at my reflection. Just gotta wait for the ripples to sto-" I was cut off by a massive force hitting my newly placed ribs, I yelped as the pain finally let itself known. I turned my head and saw a Marowak. Marowak then charged at me and I closed my eyes as I saw what I thought wad bone rush being prepared. I winced at the first hit, the second hit made contact with my skull, the third with one of my back legs, the fourth on my back and finally the fifth on my ribs again. I looked at my limp body and saw blood was gushing out of one of the wounds when suddenly I was hit again. Everything was all hazy and two moving creatures were circling around me, I had a feeling that the new one wanted to protect me, so I let out a silent whimper to show I'm still alive. Both figures were blurry in my vision, then all I could see was blurred dust. Then I fainted.**

**When I finally woke up, my vision still hadn't improved, but the area I was in wasn't the riverside. Someone had obviously dragged me to another area " was it the other one?" I hopelessly questioned myself. The sharp pains present in my beating I received from the Marowak were no longer sharp, they were in fact, dull, aching pains, but at least it was now bearable. However, when I tried to stand, my legs buckled and I winced as the sharp pain started to course through my legs causing me to yelp in a high pitch as I flopped back down again. I then shuffled to my left when I was stopped by a wall; covered in fur. " hmmm, a wall can't be covered in fur" I turned my head and saw that this wall had a tan colour and was breathing. I moved closer to it because its source of warmth was inviting, and I immediately felt more relaxed. Finally my eyes adjusted enough to see what had been bothering me, and stopping me from sleeping. It was a tail. Brown, bushy, with a white tip. I hadn't realised this before because I would've been so caught up on trying to walk and then I didn't have time to think when Marowak attacked me. So, I had a tail, paws and fur, " but what am I?". My eyes adjusted even more and I could see a leafeon staring straight at me. The leafeon was a normal one, but now looked huge; at least three times bigger than me. I told myself to run but my instincts made me stay and I let out slight whimpers and started crying, that's when I noticed the leafeon's tail wrapped around me and pulled me closer to its body. As the leafeon laid down and positioned itself to look towards me. I instinctually started wailing loudly. The leafeon said in a female's voice " What's wrong little kit? Why are you crying? Don't worry, that mean old Marowak has gone now. Nothing can hurt you now" the voice soothingly said. However, the way I was spoken to confused me "kit?" I murmured. Then I spoke my thoughts without knowing "what am I?" I asked myself, only to hear the leafeon lightly chuckle and say " you really are young, you are an eevee, and from my experience I would say you hatched no more than a month ago, but now I think maybe you're only two weeks old." She paused, her face in deep thought. " How did you manage to get away from the clan? From what I've seen, you can barely walk". I almost froze at hearing how old I was... Not to mention what I was! I started wailing again, the leafeon quickly responded by moving some food into my reach, at first it tried to grab it with my paws, but then I watched leafeon eat and saw that she grabbed the berry with her mouth, so I mimicked this and it felt natural, so once I had eaten I curled up as tightly as I could and drifted off into a satisfying sleep. As I was drifting off I gave a cute yawn which made Leafeon say "aww, so cute" as she used her tail to pull me close to her body for warmth, I liked this so I snuggled further towards her warm body, also wrapping my tail around myself for warmth. "What's your name" I inquired, to which she replied "Kudzu, now go to sleep young one, we need to get you home" she replied with a warm tone that instantly relaxed me, so once again I drifted off to sleep. And this time I did get to sleep.**

**There he was again, the killer. I watched in fear as he slowly approached me and violently picked me up by the scruff of the neck, and at this I yelped even though I felt no pain. He held me close to his face, the fetid stench of his breath was stronger than it would have been if I was still human. As his breath smacked my face again, I realised I was human again." Shame, you made such a nice little eevee, and now it's going to take more energy for magmortar to burn you to ashes now" then his face twisted forming a sharp, almost satanic smile " However, you have seen second hand what magmortar can do" he then laughed, but this laugh was almost as twisted as his smile. Then to my shock, the killer quickly turned into the magmortar, just as I changed back into an Eevee. I stood there, watching as I could see my demise quickly approaching. The magmortar/ killer charged up an overheat attack and released it."Whaaaa!" I screamed as I suddenly woke up. I noticed that I was panting and my fur felt oily, I was sweating profusely, and because of the panting I woke up Kudzu. She immediately looked concerned" what's wrong kit? You look like you've just seen a Gengar" I was shaking uncontrollably; from fear of the nightmare and fear of Leafeon because I woke her up. "I had a nightmare, and now I'm really scared" I replied feeling a lump in my throat as I began to sob. I was surprised at how limited my vocabulary was becoming since finding out I was not more than a hatchling. " Dear kit, you have nothing to fear. Now rest your eyes and try to sleep again. I'm sure it won't happen again, it may have just been your wounds reacting with the medicine I used on it. I think it's time the ointment came off now." And with that, Kudzu was then licking at the wounds, carefully trying to remove the ointment from my wounds, when she had finished she then started licking my fur to make it tidy and less scruffy. Then once again, I entered my sleep. When I woke up from my far more peaceful sleep than previously, I saw Kudzu eating some oran berries, she rolled two to me with her muzzle, and I ate them as quickly as I could; giving a cute burp when I had finished. I felt re-energised by the oran berries, I could now see why Pokemon liked the berry, its sweet taste mellowed into a bubbly juicy taste that almost literally melted in your mouth, but when I tried one as a human it was bland. 'Must be my heightened senses' I thought to myself. "Get ready kit, it's going to be at least half a day until we reach home. I will carry you most of the way, but we both must walk at the entrance" announced Kudzu with an energized smile on her face. And just moments later, I mentally said goodbye to the cave. I then felt a feeling of weightlessness, and I could see all four legs dangling, I was being carried by the scruff of the neck, but it felt comfortable unlike the feeling in my dream( or nightmare). Kudzu was trying her hardest to keep me comfortable. However, due to my apparent age, I was drifting off into another deep sleep, and soon I was once again at the mercy of my restful new age.**

**A/N: **that was it, tell me what you think. I'll update as soon as I finish the third chapter, which may be within a week or a month, but no longer. Until then.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** this chapter has a mix of views. Mainly Fraser's though, and it will introduce new characters, not necassarily lasting ones though. Hope you've enjoyed so far! Hope you enjoy this one :D

**Chapter 3**

**Fraser's POV**

**I woke up about an hour later, and felt hungry 'gosh, I swear being a kit makes you constantly hungry' I pondered on the thought for a while until I saw myself being lowered to the ground by Kudzu. " I'm afraid that as light as you are, I'm going to need some breaks every once in a while" she smiled warmly at me, I don't know why but I felt very attatched to Kudzu, was it because she saved me or 'are these my instincts kicking in because I'm a kit, a baby?' The very thought of myself being a weak kit who couldn't defend itself was a little unsettling, but I knew there was nothing I could do, so I just laid there watching my tail freely swish about, whilst Kudzu was resting. "I'm afraid we may arrive much later than I thought kit" she softly proclaimed. My young age's traits must have kicked in again because within seconds tears were forming and I was starting to cry again. Kudzu looked at me caringly and walked over to me with a gentle smile, and like last night she wrapped her tail around me after sitting down. The force of her leaf tail was able to shift me from where I was sitting, to in between her forepaws. I looked up at her, still hopelessly sobbing, I then looked down in embarrassment. "Do not fear kit, there is no rush to get there and I will be here to protect you, so nothing will hurt you." With that, she softly licked my right ear to comfort me. I felt a slight vibration coming from my stomach, I realised I was lightly purring from the comfort I was recieving. " Why isn't the clan closer?" I whined as once again my infancy spoke for me. However, Kudzu didn't reply, she just smiled, stood up and then followed to pick me up. Whilst being held up by the scruff of the neck I realised that I was unable to move because the nerves in that part of my body stopped me from doing so. I also took the time to notice how Kudzu had guessed my age, I instinctually knew that I was smaller than most eevee. 'I think I can see why Kudzu knew what age I am', but it wasn't long before my immature mind wandered somewhere else, now I was thinking about what the 'clan' might be like, but somehow I knew that the clan was solely made up of all the eeveelutions, even though Kudzu had never spoke about the 'clan' in detail, only mentioning to me briefly. My tail began wagging quickly as I became excited at the thought of meeting other eevee, but I then froze as I remembered that the eeveelutions will also be there and that now I'm small, they may look scary now. Then my thoughts danced to why Kudzu alwaus called me "kit" and never asked for my real name. **

**We... Well, Kudzu had been walking for what seemed like days in my tiny infant mind, so she slowly put me down right next to a bush, which had berries on it. I was about to grab one with my mouth when "STOP!" She shouted aggresively at me. My ears quickly flattened and I again started to wail with the shock of being shouted at for the first time. However, just as I began to bellow in sorrow and regret for trying to eat the berry. I felt a piercing pain at the scruff of my neck. I was then hoisted up and effortlessly shaken. I started squirming as the pain became more and more painful, and I could smell the blood that was seeping out of my wound. When the shaking stopped, I found myself on the floor, and staring me in the face was a salamence, all of its teeth bared, gleaming in the sunlight. I was frozen with fear, but underneath the pokemon, behind it was an angry leafeon. I noticed that Kudzu's forehead leaf was glowing bright green, and she was slowly approaching the salamence with an unnaturally evil glare in her eyes. "Hey, stay away from my kit! This is outrageous! You can't take the small one's life, I am willing to give mine if you beat me! But I bet you can't " Kudzu shouted gaining the attention of the salamence who held me down with its tail, almost crushing me. **

**" You couldn't even harm a wurmple darling" smirked the salamence, his eyes full of pride. When the salamence blinked, Kudzu let loose a silent hyper beam,and when it hit directly in the face, the salamence reacted by screaming in pain and then flying off to leave them alone. "I'm sorry kit, I didn't mean to startle you, I just saw him creeping up and then it all happened so fast."**

**I was still lying down in a state of shock, so Kudzu, knowing what to do started nuzzling my face with hers, I started purring again and blissfully fell asleep. I was woken up by my own yelp as I managed to wriggle free of Kudzu's grip of my fur. Big mistake. I dropped down on to my chest, but I didn't cry, instead I just stared at this beautiful clearing with a waterfall to the left, the water cascading down into the silver stream down below. To the right was the forest, but where we were standing was a clearing where the powerful sunlight was reaching down to the ground, which meant that Kudzu was more energized and could probably carry me for longer periods of time. "Do you want to stop here kit? As I have said, we don't need to arrive tonight, we can arrive tomorrow. Tonight we can enjoy a peaceful night sleep in this beautiful area. What do you think kit?" She smiled softly at me. ' I can't believe how nice she is being to me, all the stops I've made her make must be so irritating, and back when the salamence attacked, she said "my kit". Does that mean she sees me as her kit now?'. **

**"Y-yes I want to stay here tonight" I stuttered; still shocked from the salamence's attack. She seemed to feel sorry for me as I rested my head in self pity. I could feel her get closer to me. She wrapped her whole body round me, concealing me from any distant view. I could only look up to see the sun was starting to fall gracefully into the trees and eventually the horizon. I noticed a flock of spearow flying in a v-shape, and it was being lead by a fearow. 'Her children?' I asked myself. I turned my attention to the energy emanating from Kudzu's body. "Why is your body shaking Kudzu? Are you unwell?" I asked unsure of my protector's health. "No, I am fine dear kit, I am just using the sun's energy to use photosynthesis to produce my own food, do you want me to get some food for you, look there is a vine with chesto berries just there" she strolled over to the vine, quickly picked off two of the berries, then she carefully walked back to me, placing the berries just in front of me. I tasted the first berry, its taste was more subtle than the oran berry, and was slightly sour, but the taste was delicious once I got used to it, so I ate the second one in no time, forgetting to savour the taste, and accidently nipping my tongue, causing me to yelp slightly; my teeth had obviously grown in the last couple of days, so I shrugged it off and turned to face Kudzu. She gave me a comforting look as I unintentionally gave her a look of tiredness, even though I had done little, my infant body was telling me to rest, so I curled up; tail around my body up to my face, and once again Kudzu wrapped her whole body around me, her tail also reaching her face even with the obstruction of my body. I quickly fell into a deep sleep where warmth was surrounding me.**

**Kudzu's POV**

**I had just started lying down when I saw the kit tossing and turning in his sleep. He was dreaming, and he must have been running in this dream because his legs were almost moving in the running motion. I then reflected on the past day and a half, it had been so eventful, unfortunately most of the events had been dangerous. This kit was very lucky, I had been watching it struggle,that Marowak attacked the poor thing without warning, enough was enough, I couldn't stand to see the poor thing in pain, it just wrenched at my heart, so I stepped in and fought off the marowak with my leaf blade. In the middle of all the battling I heard the kit whimper, letting me know he was still there, still alive. Soon after the fight I picked him up and found a cave that was perfect, it was deep enough to hide the kit, and shallow enough for me to see or spot any intruders. I kept the kit warm by using my body heat, the poor kit was shivering, and I couldn't just stand there and watch. I also healed his wounds by crushing some oran berries on them and by using synthesis on the berries, I created an ointment that would heal his wounds fast, but it would be slightly painful. It was a medicine my mother taught me to make, she was always such a clever espeon. As the kit woke up, I saw that it was murmuring to itself, and when he tried to stand up he yelped, but he couldn't even stand properly before, this was how I guessed how young he was. The kit moved closer to me, but seemed distracted by its tail, and then again it talked to itself, but this time I could here it say "but what am I?". Then the poor kit looked at me with such a scared expression, I nearly cried, so I decided to comfort it and calm it down. When the kit fell asleep I couldn't help but say how cute it was, this eevee kit was melting my heart with its cuteness. I sighed, "what have I got myself into?". It had been so long since I've seen an eevee kit this cute, "what am I thinking!?" was it because I've saved it? Am I the only one it trusts?", I sighed again, I didn't know, but I'm sure the kit was happy to feel safe once again.**

**Suddenly, my ears pricked as I heard someone creeping up to me and the kit, the steps were getting closer, when the feet left the ground I aimed my energy ball towards the noise. WHACK,THUD. I turned my head to see it was Amara, my flareon friend. She got up and shook off the attack and just smiled at me, still not noticing the kit that I had concealed. "Hey, it's not like you to go against your word, what gives? You said you would be back yesterday". **

**"I know, but something happened and stopped me from returning when I planned" I replied trying not to give away to much,****"**** what could hold you up, everything that could ever happen to stop you would only ever happen back with our clan" my confident friend responded trying to call my bluff.**

**"Look just drop it will you, there's nothing to s-" I was interrupted by the kit squealing in its sleep. Amara brushed away my tail and saw the kit happily dreaming.**

**"Oh my, Kudzu, what have you been up to" she said, clearly to tease me and get a reaction.**

**"I found the poor thing and watched it and then I stopped a marowak from killing it, then I had to look after it, and I've decided it's coming back to the clan with me." **

**"Awwh, the poor thing seems like it's been through a lot. How old is it?" Amara said, seeming genuinely concerned**

**" My guess is no more than three weeks old". I confessed in a matter of fact tone.**

**"If you want, I'll carry it some of the way" Amara asked reassuringly, and how could I have said no, it's not often Amara offers her help to me personally because she's so busy all the time.**

**"Yes, you can, but tomorrow we must teach this kit how to walk" I said softly, but assertively, we both decided to get some sleep; both of us either side of the kit, laid down and went to sleep under the stars.**

**A/N: **hope you enjoyed. Again I'll try to update ASAP. And send any comments/ reviews my way, criticisms I'm happy with as long as they're constructive :). Until then.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **This is the fourth chapter. I will only say one word for it. Fire. I do not own pokemon but I do own the characters .

**Chapter 4**

**Amara's POV(Before finding Kudzu and Fraser)**

**"Why did I volunteer to look for her again? There must be something wrong with me." I scanned the area hopelessly looking for Kudzu."We all know that she won't get in trouble, and yet, they have the sheer audacity to tell me that someone needs to look for her. I think it's a little bit selfish in my opinion. I mean, come on, she did say that she would be back last night, I do love her as a friend, but sometimes she really does annoy me!" I moaned this to myself repeatedly as I was wandering through the forest that our clan knows so well. However, the parts of the forest that were 'out of bounds' were explored by Kudzu and I, and we would confirm if certain areas are safe or not. As I ventured through the forest, I noticed a salamence weeping in what I could only assume was pain, and the more I stared at it, the more I realised how beaten up it was, there were particularly fresh bruises on its face. 'What could've done this to it? Although, its pride seems more hurt than anything. Who could've done this?'. As I stood there, the salamence tried to creep out of view without any success, and as its tail slithered away, I laughed lightly at its sorrowful attitude. However, the next thing I see is a flamethrower headed straight for me, so I briskly dodged the burst of flames and countered the salamence with my own flamethrower. This only enraged the thug even further as he charged at me with a meanacing dragon rush. Fortunately, he carried so much speed, that when I hopped to the side, he crashed into an oversized oak tree and fell to the base of the now severely dented tree, and he had clearly knocked himself out cold, which made me shiver at the thought of what impact I would've taken. **

**Nothing happened in the next few minutes, the occasional wurmple crossed my path as I journeyed further into the forest. Just as I started to abandon all hope I saw a familiar figure lying silently, but calmly just metres away from the bush I was standing behind. 'Oh my gosh! It's Kudzu, I knew I'd find her somewhere around here' I caught myself grinning with relief. As the wave of relief passed, all the thoughts of not finding Kudzu had banished. I didn't expect to find her in one night, although I knew she wouldn't be stupid and put herself in danger, I still had my doubts. An idea struck me and my grin was now shamelessly showing. I lowered myself ready to pounce at Kudzu to shock her beyond belief, this was one of our favourite games that we played whilst exploring the forest, and this was now a perfect opportunity. I leapt into the air silently, but my grin quickly vanished as I collided with an energy ball that hit my shoulder.' How did she know? She has never been able to detect me before, something's not normal'. As I steadily made my way through the cloud of dust created by the impact, I just smiled at Kudzu who returned with a confused look on her face, but still, she didn't stand up. "Hey, it's not like you to go back on your word, what gives? You said you would be back yesterday" I said quizzically, whilst trying to work out what why she hadn't got up 'Is she injured?'.**

**(After this point, Amara knows everything up to the end of chapter 3)**

**I lied there and couldn't believe the lengths Kudzu had gone to just to protect this kit, which she had never seen before. She was convinced that it belonged to our clan, but was baffled as to how it managed to get that far away, my only guess was that its parent had left it alone because they couldn't cope with having a kit,'Well they're in for a shock' I thought to myself as I softly drifted into my sleep.**

**Kudzu's POV**

**I woke at dawn, knowing that I would have to wake the other two very soon. I happily sighed when I saw Amara sleeping next to the kit, they were no different in their sleep, and they both looked so happy, so peaceful, it would almost be a travesty to wake them up, but the young one had to learn to walk. And with myself and Amara's help, it would be running by the end of the morning, then we could set off and arrive far quicker than if we carry him, eevee are generally quick, so the he will have no problem keeping up with us. In fact if it has enough energy, we may be struggling to keep up with it. However, I don't think it will run away from me, it sees me as its protector and I need to protect it, so it wouldn't run to far. 'I don't think it would'.**

**As I watched the sun rise, I started humming a melody that I had been taught as a kit. The sweet melody travelled through the wind in an almost picturesque scene. When the soft sounds were gone, I noticed that Amara had been listening to me, but I didn't mind, in fact she loved my singing. "Good morning sunshine" I said in reference to her yellow mane matching the colour of the sun. Amara looked at me with a relaxed look in her eyes. **

**"Maybe we should get some food for ourselves and the kit" she said immediately acknowledging the kit**

**"Sure, there are some oscha berries which would be great for the energy we're going to need today" I said in a rather plain tone. Amara replied.**

**"I'll get the food, you wake up the kit", Amara seemed to be taking on a serious role, which was rare whenever she was around me. **

**"Ooohh kit, wake up sleepy head, you need to learn a few things today, so come on, get up" I said as softly as I could. The kit started to stir, and finally its eyes opened, the deep brown eyes looked at me worriedly for a moment, but then showed me a faint smile and said.**

**"G-good morning K-kudzu" with its childlike voice and small size, I couldn't help but 'aww, he's too cute', but I held the thought in and just smiled at him. Within seconds of this, Amara arrived with a giant leaf full of oscha berries. Oscha berries were typically for young pokemon to grow healthily, but they were also beneficial to adults too. Amara and I just stared in amazement as we watched the kit devour its portion of berries at a speed that only a kit can achieve. When he had finished, he let out a satisfied burp, that made it clear that he was ready to learn to walk.**

**Fraser's POV**

**I felt a warm, fuzzy sensation against me, nudging me to get up. It had been days since I stood up, but I soon worked out how to stand again, although I was more shaky than last time. The ground was hard and I could feel the small stone underneath my right forepaw's pad.**

**"Right, today you are going to learn to walk" Kudzu stated**

**I nodded in response, and awaited further instruction." Wait" another voice called, this voice was rougher and more serious than Kudzu's**

**"Let me teach him how to take steps" the voice bellowed, almost begging to Kudzu, she rolled her eyes.**

**"Fine. Kit. This is Amara, she is my friend, and she is going to help you walk as well." Kudzu said this in a sarcastic tone aimed towards Amara, and I looked over to see Amara smile at me. I sheepishly smiled back, unsure of the fire type's friendliness towards me. "Let's start by putting your right forepaw forward" she said, whilst gesturing her right forepaw doing the same action, it would be I put my right forepaw forward and stamped it down to keep my balance on the ground ahead. **

**"Good, now do the same with your left back paw, and you will see that your balance stays perfect" and sure enough when I did this I moved forwards slightly and my balance stayed still. Amara started to smile at this as Kudzu watched on with a similar smile. Then I surprised myself because without any extra instruction I managed to do the same with my other feet, and very soon I stopped gingerly stepping and started walking normally. I yipped with excitement.**

**"Well done young one, I knew you could do it! You've picked this up very quickly" Amara shouted as she beamed a smile. However, the shouts were received as threats, so I dashed off to Kudzu, who had a surprised look on her face. **

**"Why did you run away young one? Amara was only congratulating you because you can now walk, and after that shock, you also learnt to run. Well done. And with that lesson learnt far quicker than I expected, we can now leave for the clan. Our clan". When Kudzu finished saying this, she straightened up, and walked past Amara. At the same time, I followed Kudzu, walking underneath her to protect me from anything that may attack. Amara was walking alongside, occasionally smiling at me, possibly trying to reassure me she was a friend, not an enemy.**

**Kudzu's POV**

**We had been walking for hours now, the sun was now on its slow descent to the horizon. The kit had managed to not get tired, and as I had predicted it had been full of energy. For example, in between our breaks, it would be charging around our place of rest, but when we started walking again, it seemed to hide itself underneath me. This started as soon as we began walking, and I think what caused this was when Amara shouted to congratulate the kit, and the loud noise must've startled him, so it hid underneath me as a safety barrier. And I was thankful that this kit trusted me so much. I had cared for it from the day I laid eyes on it. And now I felt a strong bond between us.' He needs a name, but what should he be called?'.**

**"Dear kit, you need a name, what do you want to be called?" I heard nothing from the kit as we carried on walking, except the sound of its footsteps.**

**"What about... Kyne?" Amara quickly asked him**

**I assumed that he had said no, because Amara then asked" Cicero? Oh that's such a nice name", but alas, the kit didn't like that name either.**

**"How about... Chima?" I asked, thinking of a name that I liked, and to my surprise I received an encouraging nudge from Amara, who had obviously approved the suggestion. In the blink of an eye, the kit was ahead of me, it stopped, turned around and nodded. I smiled, happy that my favourite name hadn't been shot down in flames by a child.**

**"So, Chima, are you excited to get back to the clan?" I asked hoping for himto answer excitedly, but instead, I got the sense that it was confused.' That's odd, how could I know it was confused?'. "Why are you so nervous Chima? There is no need, you are an eevee and all eeveelutions are welcome where we're going.". I was starting to wonder why Chima had been left alone when I found him. Was he abandoned? None of that mattered now though. I was there to look after and protect him, Chima in my eyes, was my responsibility.**

**(Many hours later)**

**"Here we are!" Yelled Amara in a positive and shouty tone.**

**"Look Chima, we're home" I warmly said to him.**

**Fraser's POV**

**A massive cave was right in front of me, staring at me, half of it was covered in moss, and just inside the cave you could see several pillars shaped like icicles. The whole area around the cave was so dense, plenty of sizeable trees were surrounding the area, and the deep green leaves averted any sunlight from this shaded area. 'How could this huge cave be a secret from everyone?', but then I remembered how small I was. However, the cave was still at least five times the height of a normal human.**

**"Kudzu, how come humans don't know about this place?" I asked in a whining tone**

**"How do you know what a human is!?" Replied Kudzu, clearly shocked by me knowing what a human was.**

**"I-er, was told that they work with pokemon to make the world a better place?" I said trying to sound sure of myself**

**"If humans did any good to the world, we would let them know we were here, but we hide because all humans do is use us to fight. I don't want you to ever go near one. Understand Chima?" Said Kudzu, who clearly did not like humans, so she let me know in the harshest way she could.' But I was human, what does that mean she'll think of me?'**

**"Woah, calm down Kudzu, you don't want to frighten him, he was only asking" said Amara, being the voice of reason.**

**"I know" she turned to me" I am sorry Chima, let's go inside then." As we walked in I felt Amara pick me up and carry me in her mouth. I couldn't see inside the cave, but Amara and Kudzu clearly could because they were moving swiftly in the darkness. The cave's spiralling system was leading us underground, but eventually I saw a glimmer of light, and as we kept moving the light got brighter, and brighter, my tail started wagging uncontrollably as I became excited because we were finally arriving at my new home. Kudzu rushed ahead and talked to an umbreon who the gestured for us to follow, as we did, Amara let me walk again. The light was now almost too intense. I squinted as we came to an opening, and just like when I saw the cave, when I saw what was in front of me, my mouth was gaping in amazement and wonder.**

**"This is home Chima. Beautiful isn't it?" Kudzu said softly whilst smiling to Amara, who returned the smile with her own grin.**

**A/N:** That's chapter 4 then, I hope you liked it. I'm trying to get better, I swear :). I'll get chapter 5 up within a week or so. Until then, byee :D


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **sorry this chapter took so long to upload, my first attempt at chapter 5 ended when my computer lost it, so I've had to start again….. Sorry. I have made this one longer to make up for time I've lost. I DO NOT OWN POKÈMON; I own all the characters though

**Chapter 5**

**Fraser's POV**

**I stood there in awe, completely ignoring Kudzu. Below the cave's entrance was a beautiful valley. I couldn't believe it. This underground cave was just a geographical 'dip' in the planet, which formed an unnoticeable crater, undetected by any life forms other than the eevee clan. The sun beamed its rays down onto the lake that was nearby, the water's ripples shimmering in the reflection of the sunlight. "How big is this place?" I asked.**

"**This is a vast landscape, almost like a smaller world inside the world beyond the cave, but only eevee and its evolutions exist here, and we all live happily, with no threats apparent" explained Kudzu, but all she managed to do was confuse me even more.**

**The Umbreon then gestured for us to follow it. I placed myself underneath Kudzu, so I was protected, and I was walking at her pace so I stayed under her. However, when we got to the valley, I saw that on the other side of the valley we were in, the sunlight stretched to a flat area of grass, and I could see many Flareon, Leafeon and Eevee lying down, enjoying the sunlight that was providing them warmth. I was tempted to run out into that area, but then I wouldn't have Kudzu to protect me. When I stopped staring at the grassland, I noticed Amara was smiling at me "You want to go and lie down in the sun? I don't blame you" she chuckled to herself.**

**As we continued walking, I looked around again and saw that there were plenty of Eevee in a small lake. They were splashing each other and having fun, now I really wanted to run over to them, but I didn't know if I could go anywhere without Kudzu there to protect me. I remained underneath Kudzu as we kept walking. We came to a halt after a while 'Wow, Kudzu wasn't lying, this place is huge' I thought to myself as I started to pant a little. We sat down and I overheard Kudzu, Amara and the Umbreon discuss something about me. I was still getting used to my new name, 'Chima', it's quite a nice name, and since I can't remember my name from when I was a human, this would be great for me. Whilst I was lying down, in the distance I could just about make out three Eevees sitting on a tall, brown rock. All three of them were intently watching the two Jolteon below, who were play fighting. 'Is that their school?' Unfortunately for me, when I snapped out of my thoughts. I realised that the others had got up and left me behind, and I was now alone and lost in a 'World' that I have never been in before. I bravely started to walk in the direction I presumed to be the way that Kudzu had gone. I tried using my newly heightened sense of smell to try and find Kudzu's scent 'No'. Amara's scent 'No'. As I carried on walking I looked down at the ground and my feet. I was frustrated at myself for losing them, when suddenly 'WHACK' and I fell on to my side, I growled at the pain mixed with my frustration, until I saw a Vaporeon was helping me up, and then I reduced myself to a nervous wreck again.**

"**Sorry about that little guy" the Vaporeon said apologetically, but because of my age, my eyes began to well up and soon I was crying again, streams of tears were rushing down my cheeks. "Uh…. Uh, don't worry kit; I'm not going to hurt you. You seem far too young to be wandering down here by yourself. Who are you meant to be with young one?" the Vaporeon looked at me concerned.**

"**K-Kudzu, I'm with Kudzu" I replied. The Vaporeon's face changed from concerned to shock.**

"**WHAT!? But Kudzu hasn't had a kit. How could you be?" he was stuck in the middle of his sentence, he was deep in thought. He looked at the floor, still trying to work out whatever was troubling him. I started making high pitched whines to snap him out of his confusion. "Wha-. Oh, right, sorry kit. I'll take you to Kudzu, just follow." And then he started walking away at a fast pace, and I followed just behind him. However, within minutes, I was already exhausted. 'I'm too young to go this fast' so I started whining again, and this made the Vaporeon stop and turn to approach me. I closed my eyes, thinking that I was going to be attacked, but then I felt a familiar sensation of being weightless. I opened my eyes and saw that I was being carried again. The Vaporeon's grip was tight, but comfortable at the same time. Although it had the extra weight of me, dangling from its mouth, it was walking at the same speed. After about another twenty minutes of walking, we came to an area where there were plenty of trees and inside one of the bigger trees were Kudzu and Amara. Both of them had sad expressions on their face, I yipped to them, and immediately Kudzu rushed off towards me in an instant. **

**She stopped just a few feet away. The Vaporeon placed me on the floor gently, and as soon as my feet touched the floor I quickly scurried over to Kudzu and stood by her side. "Thank you Demyx, I was so worried I had lost Chima. I owe you for this. I'll help out by-" Kudzu was cut off by the Vaporeon, who was called 'Demyx'.**

"**No need to worry Kudzu, you owe me nothing. Just bring… Chima is it?" Kudzu nodded "Yes, bring Chima to the guild later tonight, and then we can decide whether he shall be allowed to stay in the clan." I looked up at Kudzu in shock, but she looked similarly shocked as well. "Kudzu, there is no need to worry. Chima is an Eevee, he is almost guaranteed acceptance into the clan. Only eevee and its evolutions are allowed in here as you know, so unless you've smuggled in a weedle, then you should not be even the slightest bit nervous. Oh, and one question before I leave. Is Chima y-" Demyx was interrupted by a loud and excited voice.**

"**Demyx! Oh my Arcues, it has been too long, I have literally been counting the days since we were apart" shouted the voice that belonged to Amara.**

"**It's great to see you to Amara, I have missed you deeply" Demyx smoothly replied to Amara, quickly nuzzling her neck. Then he stood up, turned around and walked in the direction we came from, on his way to do whatever he was going to do before we collided.**

"**Who was that Kudzu?" I asked**

"**That, Chima, was Demyx; he is one of the guild members, and possibly the most popular pokemon in this clan. He has been there for everyone in their time of need; he's just such a good empathiser. Also, he is Amara's mate, this means they love each other, okay?" I nodded. "That's enough of that. What I would like to know is why you didn't follow us earlier on today Chima, why?" Kudzu asked me suspiciously, and I nearly broke down into tears when I saw that she was looking at me intently, almost as if she was trying to get the answer from my eyes.**

"**W-when we were walking, I was looking at all the others playing, and I was watching them because I wanted to play as well, but it was when I saw two of the yellow ones fighting, I wanted to sit with the others and watch them fight, it looked like fun!" I started to smile whilst explaining this because I was thinking of how fun it looked. However, when I looked back at Kudzu, her face was still locked in a serious stare.**

"**What happened to make you lose us though? I don't understand Chima" she said as my smile quickly vanished.**

"**When I watched the two bigger ones fighting, I stopped, and then when I stopped watching, I was alone. I was scared; I wanted you to come back. I started walking where I thought you had gone, but I couldn't find you; even though I tried to find your scent. I got angry and carried on walking. That's when Demnicks walked into me, and helped me find you." I answered, whilst keeping my face from her glare by watching my tail swish nervously.**

**Then she said whilst chuckling "Demnicks. Chima, I suppose it is because you are so young that you're unable pronounce words properly, it is D-E-M-Y-X, Demyx. I can take you to the small lake we have if you want, or we could go and lay down in the sunlight, or even go to the small glaciers we have floating on our largest lake. However, I would much rather we go to the second place, because the sun feels so nice, and I can really take in all the sun's energy out there. And it's not as cold as the glaciers, I am not very keen on the cold Chima" then it was my turn to chuckle, but because of my childish voice, the chuckles were a lot higher and squeakier than Kudzu's. My laughter was then silenced by Kudzu "Chima, it has been a long day. I won't be able to take you to the lake today. I am far to tired, but we can go tomorrow, I promise." Kudzu said with a smile returning to her face.**

"**I'll take him if you want Kudzu" said Amara, who up until this point had been quietly listening to mine and Kudzu's conversation.**

"**Are you sure Amara? You need to get ready for the guild's meeting tonight, are you sure you don't just want to rest instead?" Kudzu asked**

"**No! You know me Kudzu; I'm only tired when I want to be, so I'm more than happy to take Chima to the lake, so he can finally have some fun like a kit should be. Now Chima, we can go to the lake or" Amara was stopped by Kudzu.**

"**I don't want you taking Chima to the geyser field; it's too dangerous for him." **

"**Kudzu, you have no reason to-" and once again Amara was cut off**

"**I have very good reason to worry. One, Chima is not even a month old, and could get really hurt if a geyser were to hit him. And two, Chima is an Eevee, not a Flareon, so he may not like the heat like you do. It's either the lake, or he stays with me. Got it? I will not have my kit injured." Kudzu raised her voice, showing her authority and her protectiveness over me.**

"**Okay, I'll take him to the lake" Amara grumbled "But promise me that when he's older, you'll let him go. You just haven't lived properly until you've been there. I still remember when you went there for the first time; you were so nervous, but after about an hour, you enj-" Amara explained, taking pleasure in reminding Kudzu of the embarrassing moment.**

"**Okay, I promise that he can go….. One day". **

"**Okay, let's go Chima" and within seconds she picked me up, and started running towards the lake. It took about ten minutes for us to spot the lake. When we approached its banks, I noticed that there were still several other Eevee playing in the water, or paddling in the deeper part of the lake. I also noticed that despite the fact I was now the same species as them, I was still smaller than them. This was probably due to my size. I looked at myself in the water, but all I saw was the water rippling, and suddenly a familiar Vaporeon appeared.**

"**Demnicks!" I shouted with joy.**

"**Hey little guy, I see you decided to go for a swim in the lake. Well, let me take you to a shallower area, because this water is deeper than it looks" I nodded, Amara put me down on the floor "Climb on my back Chima." I did as I was instructed to and steadily climbed onto Demyx's back. Demyx started to swim to the shallow part of the lake. When we reached the 'area', Demyx sat down, letting me slide off his back and splash into the water. The cool water instantly stopped the heat of the day from making me pant. However, the water was being soaked up by my fur, so I felt a lot heavier. "Do you like the water Chima?" I nodded in response to his question. "Perhaps when you grow up, you will be a Vaporeon like me". I smiled, but I didn't actually know how to react, I hadn't even thought about evolution 'I'm too young to be told this, I won't be able to evolve for a while, so why is he telling me now?' Whilst we were in the lake, Demyx and I had a water fight (which Demyx obviously won, being a water type) and he taught me how to paddle. "I think we've been here long enough. Amara will be waiting, let's go back to her so you can go home." So Demyx grabbed me, and dragged me through the water until we reached the bank where Amara was waiting. When she saw us approach, she smiled. **

"**You two looked like you were having fun. I hate the water; it just makes me feel so cold and….. Well….. Wet" she said whilst trying not to laugh at my soaked fur coat.**

"**Well, I don't care if you don't like it. The very fact that you choose to like me is enough" Demyx said as he put me down and nuzzled at Amara's cheek. I stood up and shook all the water I could out of my fur, getting Amara and Demyx slightly damp. Demyx laughed as Amara sighed. All the other pokemon that saw the three of us by the lake would definitely have thought that I was Amara and Demyx's kit, because I was lying in between the two of them, whilst they were nuzzling each other. As soon as I realised that they were doing this, I whined and then yawned, telling Amara that I wanted to go home because I was tired.**

"**Okay Chima. Demyx I'll see you at home, I've got to get Chima back to Kudzu, I'll see you later, bye" Amara quickly said, and then she quickly picked me up, and swiftly ran to Kudzu's home.**

**When we arrived, Kudzu was waiting patiently, and as soon as Amara put me down, Kudzu swept me up with her tail. "Here he is, all safe and sound. I'll see you later I've got to go see Demyx, I promised I'd see him back at our den, bye Kudzu, bye Chima" and then Amara rushed off in the direction that we came from.**

**Kudzu then let me walk to her den, where she gestured for me to go to sleep, but all I wanted to do was tell her about how much fun I had. "Kudzu, you'll never believe what I did today. Demyx taught me how to paddle, and we also had a water fight, and…..And…. And" whilst I was saying this I became more and more tired. I was more tired than I thought, so I curled up on Kudzu's bed and fell asleep.**

**AMARA'S POV**

"**Demyx I'm back" I yelled as I ran at full speed towards our home.**

"**Hello beautiful" he replied with a kind smile and a soft look in his eyes.**

"**Can you believe this day? Well, for me it's been a strange couple of days, first I find Kudzu, then I see that she has Chima, and then-" I was cut off by an intrigued Demyx.**

"**Yes, about Chima, is he Kudzu's kit?" he asked**

"**No, but it does seem like it. Kudzu says that Chima probably belonged to someone in the clan. And I don't think she would lie about this, she said that she nearly killed a salamence for trying to kill Chima, and I think I saw it when I was looking for Kudzu, but that's beside the point." I explained, now starting to lose focus on the subject.**

"**Amara, I'm worried if Kudzu gets too nervous to think straight at the guild's meeting, because she may be getting worried that Chima will not be accepted into the clan. She needs to know that there is really no need to worry." Demyx said in a comforting tone. "May I say how beautiful you are looking today Amara? The sun shining down on your coat makes it glisten and shine, almost like a star."**

"**Stop it, you know I blush when you say nice things about me" I giggled**

"**You're so radiant, and when the sun's rays hit your fur, you start glowing brighter than the stars themselves. Your beauty is so rich, that only Arcues himself should be allowed to see you." Demyx flirted with the words, using each one to its full effect. He was such a good wordsmith. And as he nuzzled my neck I felt drowsy, so we both fell asleep, both of us ready for the meeting later tonight.**

**KUDZU'S POV**

**I just sat there for ages, waiting for someone to tell me that the meeting was about to start. I couldn't sleep, I was too nervous; Chima meant the world to me since I found him; to lose him would just be unbearable. 'What if he doesn't get accepted into the clan? What if he is left out in the forest again? He can't defend himself, he's just a kit!' These thoughts raced through my head at great speeds, constantly repeating themselves, which just made me more paranoid about Chima's future here in the clan. I didn't want him too leave. For the moment being, I wouldn't be able to hold in my only emotion. Worry. **

**I watched Chima sleeping. He looked so peaceful, so calm, but I was the complete opposite. I was a nervous wreck 'What if I was wrong? What if Chima doesn't have a mother here? Does that mean he can't stay?' I hoped that Chima's mother would be there at the meeting, and then she would claim Chima and take care of him 'but what if she doesn't care for him, what if his mother just takes him out to the forest again; just leaving him there to die. I can't let that happen.' A shiver ran down my spine as I thought about the consequences of his mother returning and being neglectful. If I found out who it was, they would find out what it's like on the receiving and of my hyper beam. I almost envied Chima, because there he was, without a care in the world, sleeping like and angel. However, I physically could not get to sleep. Whenever I heard something, I would immediately defensively curl round Chima to protect him from any threats, but the threats were mostly the wind gently blowing across the woodland I lived in, or a couple of Eevee playing in the wood, or even a couple walking by; minding their own business. At these innocent acts, I would start to growl and move Chima's safety to the top of my priority list.**

**I had been awake for a long time now, but finally, I was starting to drift off to sleep, when I heard bold footsteps making their way over to my den. Whoever this was, wanted me to hear them. I slowly got up; I shifted Chima into a corner where he was out of sight from anyone who got inside. I then crept towards the source of the noise, when I was close enough I pounced to attack the 'intruder', but I soon found myself restrained by a psychic field. "Luctis?" I asked "What are you doing here? And put me down!"**

"**How am I supposed to know if you're going to attack me when I let you go" replied a soft, yet wise female voice.**

"**Because if I try to attack again; you can just put me in another psychic field. Now LET ME GO!" I demanded "and answer me! Why are you here?" and suddenly I was put back down to the ground where an Espeon was now facing me.**

"**I am here to take a look at the kit you have been looking after. I'm getting a look before the others do, but I will only look if I have your permission. May I?" she said calmly.**

"**Fine, you can look, but be very quiet. He's sleeping. And you can't stay long. I need to get him ready for later tonight." I mumbled, clearly displeased with my company.**

"**You have my word Kudzu, I will be no longer than a moment" she whispered, so she didn't wake Chima.**

**I didn't understand why I wasn't better friends with Luctis, she was kind, and always knew what to do in difficult situations. She was the leading reason as to why our entire clan's home wasn't burnt down by a wildfire two years prior to the current day. She assembled all of the clan's vaporeon, and some other Espeon to control the fire, whilst the Vaporeon put it out. However, trying to become her friend at this point in time wouldn't be a great idea, because she would suspect that I was only being nice to her so I would get her vote for Chima's safety. I knew Amara and Demyx would vote for Chima to stay, so would I, but I would still need one more vote in order for him to stay. My best bet was that Taphyn would vote for Chima to stay, because apart from Amara and Demyx, he is the closest I have to a friend on the guild.**

"**Well, he seems to be healthy" Luctis said as she inspected the kit. "You've been looking after him since you found him you say?" I nodded in response. And then Luctis turned to leave "I will see you later tonight, and I have to say, I am glad you didn't try and sweeten me us, so I vote for this kit to stay, that takes a lot of strength considering how much you care for this kit. The way you're acting around it is through instinct, exactly like a mother would for her own kit. I'm proud of you Kudzu" she said as she strolled off deeper into the forest.**

***************************************_**two hours later**_********************************* **

**Finally, it was time to go. I woke up Chima not to long ago, cleaned his fur, and now we were about to leave. Because it was dark, and only I knew the way to the guild, I picked up Chima and started walking in the direction of the guild's place of meeting. The walk there was uneventful, yet eerily quiet.**

**However, when we approached the guild's den, I had to push and shove past some of the other pokemon who were gathering to watch the meeting. When I got to my stand I put Chima down, and waited for the others to arrive. After a short while, Demyx appeared, closely followed by Amara, and they walked up to me "How are you Kudzu?" to which I replied with a worried look on my face. "Don't worry, you and Chima will be fine, you'll see" Demyx said with such self assurance that it made me smile a little.**

**Next to arrive was Avo, he was a strong, smart and very authoritative Jolteon. He walked past me and looked at Chima, showing no emotion. Luctis arrived soon after and again began to analyze Chima's behaviour, trying to make a judgement now. Devin then walked to his guild space. Devin was the most respected member of our community, apart from Demyx, and when he walked past, he looked at me, then at Chima with his concentrating face on. Chima recoiled backwards to me because even for me, Devin looked scary any time other than when he was happy or upset, but to me, his scary looked cool, not genuinely scary. And finally, turning up last, as usual, was Taphyn, he was a Glaceon, and was much like Devin, but more laid back and seemed to care for personal issues more than Devin. There was one time when Taphyn just left a meeting to go looking for a Flareon's lost child, he was gone for at least half a day, when he returned with an upset looking Eevee in his mouth. He had saved the Eevee from falling from a tree, which it had been stuck on for a day, because it was trying to hide from its mother. Out of all the guild members, minus Amara and Demyx, I respected Taphyn the most. Taphyn walked past me, and looked at Chima with a friendly smile, mouthing the words 'hello' to him. Then he looked at me and smiled as he nodded at me. Then finally, he reached his post.**

"**I call forth this meeting to discuss the fate of this kit, who is currently under the care of Kudzu, but before I begin, if there is anyone here who knows the kit's parents or is his parents, please speak now" there was utter silence, apart from a few mumbles of the other pokemon talking amongst themselves. "Very well then. We will now begin discussion. Kudzu let the kit speak his story of events. Where do you come from ki-"Devin was interrupted by Amara.**

"**Devin, his name is Chima." **

"**Okay. Chima, where do you come from?" Devin asked**

**A/N: **sorry I took so long to upload this one, I would've been quicker, but there have been things slowing me up, but I hope you like this chapter. I'll definitely update within a week this time. I made this chapter extra long to say sorry for not being able to update when I said I would, so enjoy, and I might actually do chapters a little bit shorter than this, but not too much shorter. Until next time. byee


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **To the few fans I have. I am sorry that I didn't deliver on my promise to update within a week. I'm not even going to bother with excuses, so here is chapter 6. All the usual, I do not own pokemon, but I do own the characters in the story.

**Chapter 6**

**Chima's POV**

"**Okay. Chima, where do you come from?" the Umbreon asked me, with a threatening glare.**

"**I don't know I just woke up i-in t-the f-for-rest" I mumbled, whilst uncontrollably shaking; the transfixed glare the Umbreon bared upon me was making me extremely nervous.**

"**Are you saying that you came to existence from nowhere, because as you can see, your parents are not in this clan? Do you have no memory of where you came from?" he asked; his eyes still staring at mine, almost like he was looking right through me. I decided to turn my head to look at the yellow one, but he was giving me an almost blank stare. However, when he walked in and looked at me, he seemed like he was just thinking; always thinking, so much that he forgot to show emotion on his face. "Look at me when I am talking to you young one!" Devin demanded. I quickly re-adjusted my line of sight to see Devin still staring at me with his deep, red eyes. I nearly recoiled back to Kudzu, but I knew I had to stay strong. In answer to his question, I briskly shook my head.**

"**Perhaps it would be best if I was doing the questioning? You seem to be reducing this poor kit to tears" said the soft, gentle voice of the Espeon who was sitting closest to Kudzu and myself. **

"**Fine" Devin mumbled. I only just heard him say this, and even with my better sense of hearing I could not make out what he said after that, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't anything that I would want to hear. **

"**What is your name?" she asked. I was a little bit confused to say the least. My name had already been said, so why was she asking for my name?**

"**Chima" I said, still shaking, but much less now that I wasn't being directly glared at by Devin. The Espeon gently smiled and then closed her eyes. Suddenly, I was aware of something probing away at my thoughts; as I shouted I heard "**_**Do not worry, I am just seeing into your memories to see if I can find out where you are from**_**" yet when I looked at everyone, they weren't talking, not even the Espeon was talking. **

"**Chima do not worry. Luctis is using her telepathy to communicate with you just let her look and help. You must relax for Luctis to be able to help though" Demyx said with the most soothing voice he could summon. I slowly got used to Luctis' psychic power reading through all of my memories, but it still felt strange. The whole time, my head felt numb and although I knew I had memories and I was well aware of them, I couldn't remember any of the ones of myself as a human. That's when I guessed that Luctis had probably seen these memories. I started to panic again when I thought of what Luctis' reaction would be. When the ordeal was finally over, my mind felt free, and I could remember most things again.**

"**Could everyone excuse Chima and I just for a moment?" All of the other guild members and the entire clan looked confused as to why Luctis was excusing us from the meeting. The guild member silently nodded, still unsure of why Luctis was doing this, but chose not to question her. And before I could say "Psyduck" I was picked up and carried away from the meeting. When we were about two hundred metres from the guild, Luctis put me down. "I know your past. Don't try and deny it. You are a human. Or, at least you were a human." I had been found out, and I was beyond scared, I was beyond terrified. I stayed there frozen on the spot. My ears now pulled down and behind.**

"**I honestly can't remember anything of me being a human though! All I do know is that I was one. How I came to be a pokemon. What my human life was like. If I had a family. All of these I do not know" I shouted, but then when I looked up at the Espeon I quickly recoiled and hid my face partially with my tail.**

"**I understand, and because of this; I am afraid I only know a few things, but not your previous name. The only thing I know for certain is that you are clearly no threat and are now acting just like a normal Eevee, so I will not tell the others. However, this does not mean that I will be voting for your safety, but it does not mean I won't. I am to remain completely impartial. Let's get back now, we have been gone long enough." And with that I breathed a sigh of relief as I was once again lifted off the ground and carried back to the guild.**

"**Well that was quick" the Glaceon sarcastically said. I could tell that just by looking at him, he was enjoying this meeting, but I couldn't work out why. Demy then stepped forward, where both Luctis and Devin had once stood, and he looked at me.**

"**Do you want to stay here Chima?" he asked. I slowly nodded my head to show that I wanted to stay there. Demyx then looked up at Luctis "whilst you two were gone, we discussed some important points, and we have individually made our decision. Devin, would you be so kind as to give us your answer?"**

"**Of course, I have decided that the kit, Chima should be accepted into the clan, and may choose to stay for as long as he wishes" Devin replied, this shocked me, because the whole time, it seemed like Devin hated my guts. However, it seemed that my initial thoughts about Devin may have been wrong.**

"**Amara and Kudzu reveal to us your answer" Demyx said with a curious tone.**

"**I believe that the right thing is for Chima to stay in the clan" Amara said with a confident tone in her voice. **

"**I strongly believe that Chima must stay in this clan." Kudzu said at lightning speed. I knew she would vote for me to stay. My heart began racing, I was on the verge of being accepted into the clan.**

"**Thank you girls, Avo what is your decision?" Demyx questioned the yellow one**

"**I believe that the kit should not stay, because we don't know if we can trust it." He answered. His voice had a very rough tone, but he didn't seem to display any hatred towards me, but that was one vote lost.**

"**Luctis, after your… chat with Chima what is your verdict?"**

"**After having thought deeply about what I now know. I have decided that Chima should stay with the clan." She said plainly. I now knew I was safe, but we were not done yet.**

"**Wait! I would like to know what Taphyn thinks" Kudzu shouted**

"**I was going to say that the kit should stay in the clan as well." Taphyn said as he threw a smile at Kudzu.**

"**I too was going to say that Chima should stay. So, that is six votes to one, which means that Chima will be staying in the clan. Chima will stay under Kudzu's care, for she is the one who has been there for Chima the most." Demyx announced to the whole clan. I quickly zipped over to Kudzu, because the crowd's cheers were starting to frighten me. When I looked up at Kudzu I could she that she was extremely relieved. She then looked down at me and smiled, I smiled back, then Kudzu licked me on my forehead to show her affection to me. Within minutes the once vast crowd was now completely gone, so Kudzu then picked me up and started to carry me to my new home. **

**When we arrived I was already half asleep. Kudzu gently placed me down on her bed. Unfortunately, despite her efforts at being as gentle as she could be, I jerked up as soon as I touched the floor. "Are you okay Chima?" she asked. I nodded "I suppose this means that I'm your new mother" she smiled, whilst nuzzling my cheeks and purring. All of this was making me drowsy, so I curled up and fell into a peaceful sleep, free from any fears of 'what ifs?' For the first time, in a long time, I could sleep without any worries niggling at my mind.**

**Kudzu's POV**

**I couldn't believe it. Chima, the kit that I rescued is now going to be under my care. I was surprised when Devin voted for Chima to stay, but then again, no one can read his mind, not even Luctis. When I think about Luctis, I wonder why she carried Chima away, but I guess she had her reasons, and she still agreed that Chima should stay, so I should have stopped worrying when she agreed that Chima should stay, but I couldn't, I was still worried sick about Chima, Devin seemed to really scare him, but I couldn't do anything. When the meeting was finally over, Chima raced from Luctis over to me with tears nearly running down his sweet face, I had to calm him down, so I licked him on the forehead to show him that I am there to look after him. I picked him up and carried him home, I noticed that this long day had taken a toll on Chima, because as I was carrying him, he became more limp, he was falling asleep, but when I put him down on the floor he jolted up, clearly worried about something. "Are you okay Chima?" I asked, but the only response I got was Chima looking into my eyes with a worried look, and a nod telling me that he's fine. Then a thought entered my head. I was now Chima's mother, I now realised that I was going to have to look after Chima, for as long as he needed, which considering his age, would be a long time. "I suppose that I'm your new mother" I smiled, and I started to nuzzle Chima's cheeks and I started purring, this was making Chima very tired, so he started to curl up and fall asleep. When he was finally asleep, I could relax for the first time in a long time.**

"**Well, I bet you're glad that's over huh Kudzu" said a voice from just outside my home. The voice then revealed itself to be Taphyn, and he was not alone, Avo walked in with him.**

"**Hello Taphyn. Hello Avo. What brings you two here?" I greeted them, but I was apprehensive because Avo was the one guild member who voted for Chima to be banished from the clan. However, he seemed in a good mood, much like Taphyn, and he didn't look like he was going to demand attention, like he usually would.**

"**We have just come here to welcome the kit into our clan, but from the looks of things, the little guy is completely out of it. Is it true? You know, what Amara said" ****Taphyn asked, longing for an answer, but I was unsure of what he was talking about.**

"**What exactly has Amara said?" I replied**

"**She said that you took down a Salamence, just to protect … uh, what's his name again?"**

"**His name is Chima, and what Amara says is true, but I also saved him from a Marowak who was attacking him for no reason. No one can hurt him now, he's under my protection. I won't let him out of my sight, he is now my kit, my responsibility" I said full of pride of my achievements to save Chima, and walked back towards my bed where Chima was now fast asleep. I curled my body around him and looked up at Taphyn and Avo.**

"**Well, we'll see you around Kudzu. And tell Chima welcome to the clan, when he wakes up of course" Taphyn replied. Then he and Avo walked away through the forest into their own respective homes. Although, Taphyn will often be found sleeping on one of the flatter glaciers, but despite my hate for the cold, I still liked Taphyn.**

**Taphyn's POV**

**It was always a little awkward walking with Avo. Although in a meeting he was often loud and strong willed, when you're just with him outside of a meeting, he is the quietest Jolteon or even the quietest pokemon ever. When Avo arrived at his home I stopped and said goodbye to him, he just grunted in approval. 'I don't know why he spends so much time with me, he really needs to speak up for a bit, because it is always me asking questions and him just grunting in response. When I'm with Kudzu I can have a real conversation, she's so smart, and the conversations that I have with her are always really good, like when the guild were discussing that kit, Chima's fate with the clan, Kudzu was passionately arguing for Chima to stay. I could see in her eyes that she felt like she had a duty to keep Chima from any trouble, like she was his mother. When I was placing forward my arguments (which were on both sides of the argument) Kudzu would always be the first to reply. When Luctis and Chima got back, I was happy that I had come to a clear, justified decision, and I knew that Chima would get my vote to stay, and Kudzu's for that matter.' By the time I had finished thinking to myself I had reached my home, a large hole in a glacier which lead through to a large space in the middle of it. I got Amara and Demyx to help me with this. Amara used her flamethrower to make the hole and Demyx then used his water gun to make the fire concentrate on one place so that a hole could form into a tunnel. When I decided that the tunnel was deep enough I told Amara to use ember ever so slightly so that I could make one large room in the middle of the glacier. The whole process was a success, and the layout of the room gave me a lot of space. Every guild member came to look at my new home apart from Kudzu, but that is only because she cannot stand the cold. One day Amara offered to go in there with her, so that she has Amara as a source of warmth, but Kudzu had to go out and search for new territory, like she does every once in a while. However, when she didn't come back on the day that she promised she would, the guild decided to send Amara, since those two are best friends. When I found out that Amara and Kudzu were back, I was told by Demyx that Kudzu also had a kit that was travelling with her, and naturally, I was a little bit shocked. However, all of that was done now, I could rest easily. When I entered my icy domain, I walked straight towards the bed that I had set up, and swiftly fell into a deep slumber. The whole room around me was, quiet and peaceful.**

**Kudzu's POV**

**Morning had swiftly arrived after a long sleep. I felt so much better; all my worries and doubts were gone. I looked down at Chima and he looked as sweet as he could as he slept through the early hours of the morning. I slowly got up, trying not to disturb his sleep, and then I quietly walked away to find some berries that Chima and I could eat. However, just as I was about to leave the proximity of our home, I felt something brush up against my legs, and that's when I noticed that Chima had woken up and followed me out of the house. "Don't leave me mummy" he sleepily said.**

"**Now, why would I do that?" I replied. And then it hit me, Chima had just called me 'mummy'. I felt my heart melt as I went down and nuzzled Chima's cheeks, to which he tried to nuzzle back. "Come on, we will look for some berries together, so we walked further, until we found a Sitrus berry bush. I used my tail to cut through the vines that stopped the berries from falling to the ground. As I did, Chima was rounding all the berries up together, so that they were all in one pile. I then split up the pile of berries into two uneven halves. I had the bigger half, and Chima had the smaller half.**

"**Why do I have less?" he asked, almost looking hurt by the fact that I was getting more berries than him.**

"**I am saving some for later, so that you can have more, but only if you behave okay?" I answered. Chima jolted up to sit straight. I noticed when Chima was eating, that he looked a little bit awkward at times, but I shrugged it off because he is still learning everything, and if he doesn't know where he came from, then I guess that means that he was taught nothing when he was even younger, with his old family.**

**I snapped out of my trance when I heard Chima was sobbing. I quickly asked "Chima, what's wrong, please stop crying, please stop", but Chima's sobs quickly turned into loud cries.**

"**My mouth i-it h-hurts s-s-so mu-uch" he said in between his cries of pain. I then remembered 'his teeth still haven't grown yet, so I guess that's why he's in pain', but seeing him there with tears rolling down his face was so upsetting to watch, but I could do nothing about it, so I then pulled Chima closer to me with my tail, and soon his cries were becoming quieter and soon they returned to slight sobs and sniffles, until eventually Chima became completely silent. I looked down, and to my surprise he was asleep again 'thank Arceus that is over.' I thought as I slowly exhaled.**

"**It's hard being a parent isn't it" said an unknown voice.**

"**Who's there?" I demanded. Suddenly a Jolteon walked out from behind me and Chima and walked in front of us.**

"**I am sure I notice you. Ah yes, Kudzu, one of the guild members, you were quite passionate in that argument over that kit weren't you, and now you're his mother. How sweet." The Jolteon sent me a sincere smile, which I returned with my own. "My name is not important, but what is important is that you raise this kit properly. I am unable to give you any practical advice, but what I can say is that you cannot let a kit out of your sight for at least the first half a year"**

"**Thank you, are you sure you can't tell me anything else?" I asked**

"**No, I cannot. Every single kit will be different; I was just giving you a general tip to make sure that you survive. I am going to warn you, there will be times where you are going to be angry at your kit" the Jolteon replied, "I must go now. I have other places to see, more adventures to go on, my life's clock is ticking, so I'm making the most of the time I have left. We all should, and it seems that you are doing it the right way for you, so farewell Kudzu." Said the Jolteon who then used agility to dash off 'what a strange, yet kind Jolteon, but she might be wrong, I don't think it's possible for me to get angry at Chima'.**

**I picked up Chima and carried him back home, where I waited until he woke up. These next few days were going to be painful for him, he was teething, and that is never going to be pleasant. I could vaguely remember what it felt like for me. I remember my mother would always hold me close and gently "ssshh" me until I fell asleep, but I also remember that I was constantly in pain for at least a week, so I was going to have to be extra supportive towards Chima, because he needs me.**

**Chima's POV **

**I kept my eyes closed, hoping that it would block out the pain. It didn't. I slowly opened my eyes to see Kudzu looking at me worriedly. I looked back at Kudzu with the same expression; my life was currently consumed by the throbbing pain that was coming from my mouth. My mouth didn't ache, it was indescribable. I looked at Kudzu, and tried to speak, but winced from the pain from moving my mouth, she quickly wrapped herself around me and said "Chima, for the next week I am afraid that you are going to be in quite a bit of pain. This is because your teeth are growing, and this hurts, but remember that you will be okay, and I am going to be here for you." She explained. I weakly nodded to show that I was at least listening and acknowledging her. I felt that I could depend on Kudzu with my life, I just felt like she would give her life for me, but I suppose that was both of our instincts kicking in, because I was now her child. And I had even called her 'mummy' earlier, but it just felt like the right thing to say. Every time I'm around Kudzu, I feel like nothing in the world can harm me, not even Devin. And I was terrified of him.**

"**Do you want me to get you a drink?" Kudzu asked, all I could muster was a slight whimper accompanied by a nod, so Kudzu quickly set off towards a source of water. To my surprise she returned within a couple of minutes with a shell that contained water. I summoned all my strength to lap up the cool liquid. The water slightly numbed the pain, but it didn't remove the pain, just made it more bearable. When I had drank enough water, I felt a little bit better, and I wanted to go outside and play, but I didn't know what Kudzu would say. I tried to speak again; first I tried moving my jaw to see if that caused any pain. It was uncomfortable, but it didn't hurt.**

"**Mummy?" I uttered**

"**Yes?" she replied, and started walking towards me. I immediately became more nervous, so I covered my face with my tail.**

"**I-I was h-h-hop-ping that we could g-go outs-side and play, can we?" I asked trying to regain eye contact, but because I was so nervous I buried my face into my tail fur further than before.**

"**I'm sorry, but I don't think that you are well enough to go outside at the moment" she said softly trying to comfort me, but as if on cue, I yelped in pain, the numbing effect that the water had was obviously wearing off. The pain was almost too much for me, so I broke down into tears again. I had never experienced pain like this. Kudzu ran next to me, and quickly dragged me in with her tail; she held me close whilst quietly uttering "ssshhh, it's going to be okay. Sshhh now, you're fine", and strangely I started to calm down even though the pain was still strongly present. I felt better knowing Kudzu was there for me, she would always be looking after me. I slowly started to drift off to sleep again, I sighed 'this is going to be a long week' and after a few minutes my wailing had stopped, and I was now only sniffling. I felt Kudzu lay down next to me, and pull me close to her, and I re-adjusted my position so I could get myself comfortable against Kudzu's chest. And within seconds of finding that 'perfect' position I fell asleep.**

**A/N: **Well, I hope you enjoyed that. I wont be making promises on when I'm next gonna update, but I wouldn't imagine it will be that long, so until next time :D


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **I'm back! :D. I hope that you will enjoy this chapter, because I certainly had a good time writing it. I'm probably much worse than how I feel about my writing, but I suppose if I was that bad, then I would have finished by now, and people are still viewing the story, not sure if they're liking it though, but I think 'why stop there?' anyway, I do not own Pokemon, but I do own the characters in the story.

**Chapter 7**

**Chima's POV**

**Even during my dreams I was in considerable pain, I could almost hear myself yipping in pain outside of my dreams. I don't remember my dreams much, they're not anything special. Except the fact that I am now dreaming from the point of view of my Eevee form rather than my human form, and all I can seem to dream about is playing around with all the other Eevee in the clan. However, when I said "I don't remember my dreams much", I do remember one dream. When it all happened it looked so real.**

**I had woken up in my new home, but when I woke up Kudzu wasn't there. I thought that she had gone to get us some berries, so I went outside to look for her. When I didn't find her at any of her 'berry spots' I then rushed towards the guild to see if she was there, but when I got there; it was empty. I started to panic, so I rushed out and into the open valley, and was shocked at what I saw. Only metres away from me was another Eevee, but this one looked strange, its fur was not brown like mine, it was a jet black colour with a mane to match. However, there were tufts of its fur missing. It had evil red eyes that were staring at me with an intense gaze that froze me right on the spot. The Eevee snarled and bared its fangs at me, and then it charged towards me, but I woke up before it got to me. I was panting furiously, trying to catch some more air to cool me down. Kudzu was still holding on to me tightly, so I didn't try to struggle out of her grip. Instead I decided to go back to sleep, praying to Arceus that I wouldn't have that dream again.**

**I had managed to get enough sleep so that I woke up when it was morning again. Unfortunately, my jaw was still under immense pain, and I could barely move it without hurting myself. I released a high pitch yelp, which woke me up fully. I noticed that Kudzu was already awake, and had already gone to get some berries. I saw her approach the entrance of our home with the egg shell in her mouth, she steadily edged her way towards me so she didn't spill the contents of what was in the shell 'how come I don't have any berries?' I wondered, but when I looked into the egg shell I saw some concoction of berries that looked like they had been mashed up "What is this mummy?" I asked whilst looking at the 'mess' with intrigue covering my mind.**

"**That is what you will be eating until you're no longer in pain. It won't taste great, but you need to eat or else you will starve" she answered with a concerned look in her eyes. I nodded and accepted what Kudzu said, but despite the pain, I had a growing urge to run outside and play around. I looked at Kudzu sorrowfully as if I had lost something. "What is it Chima? Wait, let me guess. Do you want to go outside and play?" She read my mind, and all I could do was give a weak smile, nod vigorously and wag my tail. I didn't dare try to yip with happiness. Firstly, I was in too much pain and Secondly, because she hadn't said yes. However, she hadn't said no, so I childishly raised my hopes to the point where I thought I would be outside within seconds. I got so excited that I started running towards the exit, but before I could reach it Kudzu quickly blocked my path. I looked up at her, hurt. "I told you yesterday. It wouldn't be good for you. I know how much you want to play, but you're just going to ha-" Kudzu was interrupted by someone behind her on the outside of the exit (also the entrance).**

"**Kudzu, you know you can't stop him forever. After all, it's in an Eevee's nature to be playful, he just wants to be playing with the other Eevee" said a familiar voice. I knew who it was, it was… it was the… the Glaceon talking to Kudzu.**

"**Ah, finally you're here. Remember what I told you? Don't forget to groom him, he's a bit of a messy kit, so maybe twice while I'm gone, so when I come back, I expect him to be clean. Also, he is teething at the moment, so if he starts crying, screaming or anything like that, then you have to calm him down. Just pull him close to you and tell him everything will be fine. Oh and do not take him o-" Kudzu was once again interrupted by the Glaceon.**

"**Outside, yes I know. You told me this at the meeting, and last night. It will be fun; I haven't introduced myself yet, so this will be good. I can actually welcome him to the clan. Don't worry, I'll take good care of him" the Glaceon finished.**

"**Do you know even his name?" Kudzu quickly asked**

"**Chima" the Glaceon replied at the same speed.**

"**Okay, I'll be back before the sun sets, so I'll see you two then. Good bye" she said as she smiled at me and then thanked the Glaceon one more time, then she was gone, and I was left with the Glaceon standing in front of me. I wanted to run after Kudzu, but I had no doubt that the Glaceon would be able to catch me again, so I just stayed where I was.**

"**So, uh, are you okay then buddy?" the Glaceon awkwardly asked me, but I was still too shy to reply to this, so I looked down at the floor and then buried my face in between my forepaws. "Well, just tell me when you need something okay bud-" he was interrupted by my yelping. I didn't know how much longer I could live with the pain of teething. I dragged myself back to bed, but I didn't fall asleep; instead I lay there trying to outlast the waves of pain that were overcoming me. I whimpered every time the pain was receding because I knew that another powerful surge of pain would soon make itself present. **

"**I want mummy back!" I shouted as I writhed in pain. The Glaceon now began to slowly approach, but because of my 'battle' with teething I didn't notice that he was getting closer. However, the pain I was feeling was temporarily replaced by shock, as I felt the Glaceon's cold body next to my limp form.**

"**I know you want Kudzu back, but she has to do her job today, so I'm going to be here to look after you for now. My name is Taphyn, and as you can see I am a Glaceon. However, I'm not sure that you would know that yet, being just under a month old eh? I don't even know if you know what evolving is; do you?" Taphyn tilted his head slightly in curiosity of what I was going to say.**

"**I do know a-ab-bout e-ev-evo-" I was struggling to say it. I could easily think of the word's spelling, but for some reason I couldn't say it 'is this because of my age?' I pondered on the thought only to realise that Taphyn was already trying to explain evolution means.**

"**So, basically it all comes down to what you want to adapt to the most. Okay?" he smiled as he finished his lecture about evolution, and I nodded in response to his question even though I didn't actually hear most of what he said. I could tell that he was nervous and didn't know what to do, so he tried to do what he knew best. However, just as I was starting to listen to his conversation with me I yelped again, this time even louder, the pain had become much stronger. It felt like my teeth were going to be ripped out; it certainly didn't feel like they were growing. **

"**Q-quick I-I n-need some waaat-ter. Please" I begged as the pain was increasing by the second. Taphyn quickly returned with the egg shell full of water, but before I could drink any of it, Taphyn put his head down to it, blocking my way. I released several high pitched cries to tell him to let me drink. I was in so much pain that I was crying again, but I felt like I had to be brave in front of Taphyn, so I wasn't loudly crying, I was letting my cries run silently.**

"**I know you're in pain kid, but trust me, I'm helping you." He raised his voice to quieten me down. I watched as he exhaled slowly onto the water, which rippled when the force of Taphyn's breath made contact with the water. Then he stepped back, smiled at me lightly and said "There I used a weak form of icy breath, and have made the water colder. It is going to taste a lot better now, trust me" I feebly smiled and started drinking the now ice cold liquid, and then I realised why Taphyn had actually done this. The super cold water was going to numb the pain much more than normal water. However, because this made my mouth and jaw numb, I knew I wouldn't be able to talk properly, so to thank Taphyn I walked up to him and smiled as best I could without showing any dying pain.**

"**That's okay little guy. I knew that would do the trick. You should be fine for a while now, but remember to tell me if your mouth starts hurting again." He smiled at me sympathetically. "So, what do you want to do?" he asked, and immediately my thoughts went straight to what I had been told not to do. I wanted to go outside and play. I wanted to be running around with the other Eevee having fun, not being stuck in here like a baby, 'but I am a baby, aren't I?' my ears went flat and were pressing against my head 'being a baby sucks, I want to have fun and run about, but because I'm a baby Kudzu won't let me play just because my teeth are growing. It's not like I'll be in any danger'. "What's wrong Chima?" Taphyn asked, clearly worried if I was still hurting.**

"**I w-wan-t t-to p-pla-ay outside, b-but mummy won't let me." I complained through waves of tears. I had lost all hope in going outside, so I don't even recall why I was saying that, because I knew it was hopeless.**

"**Well I'm sorry Chima, but your mu- I mean Kudzu said that you were not to leave the house. Anyway, I've noticed that what Kudzu has said about your fur's state once you've been awake for even a short time is true. Your fur is a mess, there are tufts sticking out everywhere, your tail seems to have knots in its fur, not to mention the mud and leaves in there. And your mane, it has lost its shine. You need to stop rolling on the floor, otherwise you won't stay clean for two seconds" He laughed at my poor state, but I couldn't work out how to clean myself, so I just assumed that it was fine to look the way I did. "Here, I'll help clean you up; you'll look like a new Eevee. Kudzu will barely be able to recognise you" he chuckled to himself 'I don't want to be a new Eevee AGAIN' I sarcastically thought to myself. When Taphyn had cleaned my mane and the whole of my body, he got to work on the knots of hair on my tail. "This may sting a little bit, but it won't be very painful" he warned. I was caught off guard when he managed to rip out one of the knots. Once he had removed all knots, he then groomed my tail to make it sleek, yet soft to the touch.**

"**C-can I ha-ave s-some more w-water please?" I asked trying to sound as polite as possible.**

"**Of course you can, I'll be right back" he cheerfully replied, and within seconds, Taphyn returned and did the same cooling trick with the water, so that it would numb the pain. I felt the urge to ask again before I took any sips of water.**

"**Can w-we g-o outs-si-side and play?" I asked whilst trying to put on my best attempt of a cute face. I was hopeful, but still doubtful.**

**Taphyn's POV**

**I was a little bit surprised by that question reappearing, but I suppose his young age just meant that the 'play games all day' trait was wired into him, like most other Eevee, he just wants to have fun. "I don't know Chima, Kudzu said that you shouldn't go outside, because you may be in too much pain and then you would have to suffer whilst I got you back home, and then if Kudzu found out then she would not be happy with you, but she would be furious with me, and I do not want that happening. I'm still trying to get over the time she went ballistic at Devin because he got angry with Demyx and nearly destroyed his and Amara's home." I started speaking quicker because I knew that when Kudzu got angry, no one would have the nerve to mess with her 'maybe im actually helping Chima, so that he knows not to get on Kudzu's bad side. Although I think it will be more difficult for him because he is now Kudzu's son, and she'll find it harder to get angry at him. Still I think I'm helping anyway' I thought to myself, showing a small smile at my thoughts.**

"**Pleeaassee. I promise I won't cry. Pleeaaassee Taphyn" Chima whined on, and when I turned to face him he put on his 'sad, but cute' face. His ears were flat against the back of his head; eyes were looking larger than normal, and he was pouting a sad face. How could I say no to that?**

"**Fine, I will take you outside, but not for long, and you're not allowed to tell Kudzu" I told him. Chima started furiously swishing his tail from left to right with a grin that stretched from ear to ear, although you could still see that his teeth were far from done growing. Chima rushed outside and then stopped to wait for me "Where do you want to go Chima?" I slowly asked**

"**I wanna go see all the others" he cheerfully replied. I guess by 'others' that he meant the other Eevee, so we both walked to an open field, where you could see plenty of Eevee playing games; chasing each other or just talking. **

"**Right, we're here, go on, have fun" I chirped at Chima, but when I looked down, he was still there, and pressed up against my foreleg. "Chima?" I asked confusedly "Why aren't you going?" I asked. I could see that Chima was shivering, but it wasn't from the cold "are you nervous?" I asked. Chima just nodded his head.**

"**Okay, that's fine, I can help you" I reassured him, then I noticed a female Umbreon and a female Vaporeon sitting down and discussing various 'girly' things, but they were also watching over their children playing, making sure that no one got hurt. At that moment, an idea came to my mind. "Excuse me ladies" the two turned there heads and blushed at what I said "Do you two mind Chima and I sitting here?" I asked, the girls looked down at Chima, who stayed close to me, but still looked scared. "What are your names?" I asked them flirtatiously, although I wasn't actually interested in them personally.**

"**My name is Vesper, and this is Marina." The Umbreon replied, she then looked down at Chima, who backed away a little bit. "Is this your kit Taphyn? Oh, no I remember that's the one that Kudzu found and was at the meeting isn't it." I nodded, confirming her thoughts. "Well that's fine for you two to stay with us, although wouldn't Chima like to play with the others?" I looked down at Chima and saw that he was nodding vigorously. "I'll get them to come over then" Vesper said. "Cora, come over here, we have someone to meet you" she shouted to one of the Eevee, and it came rushing over. **

"**You too Ivy, come here" Marina shouted to her Kit, and she also came running at full speed to her mother. **

"**What do you want to say mum?" said Cora, who still hadn't even noticed Chima at this point.**

"**Please tell us!" both of the kits shouted with a whiney tone.**

"**Okay. Okay. Kids, as you can see, Taphyn is here and-"**

"**Oh hey mister Taphyn" Cora smiled, and I smiled back and nodded.**

"**As I was saying; Taphyn is here, but he's not alone" The two then looked beside me and saw Chima, sitting next to me, and they stared at him for a while until**

"**Oooh, a new friend come on, you're coming with us, we need more to play tag with us, so far we have….. me, Cora, and those four over there, I'll tell you their names later. Let's go!" Ivy barked excitedly, and very soon Chima was following her to the group of Eevee that were further out in the field. Whilst they were walking to the group, Ivy was clearly bombarding Chima with all her talking, because I could just about see that Chima was trying to listen, but couldn't always work out what she was saying because she spoke so fast.**

"**So, why hasn't Kudzu taken him here?" Marina asked**

"**She has her duty to carry out today, since she was missing for a day more than expected, so I volunteered to help her out, and that is why I'm 'babysitting' Chima. However, you cannot tell Kudzu about Chima" I quickly finished the sentence **

"**Why?" Vesper asked with a suspicious look on her face.**

"**I'm not supposed to take Chima outside, because he's teething and Kudzu thinks that it would be better if he wasn't in pain, but the little guy was so desperate to go outside that I couldn't say no." I explained **

"**WHAT!? How could you do that? You are being very stupid, Kudzu is that kit's mother now, and you've just broken the mother's trust. If she finds out don't expect me to-" Marina was cut out by Vesper**

"**Look, what you did was wrong, but I can understand. You have my word that Kudzu will here none of this, and I'm sure Marina will calm down. Don't do this again though. Although Marina may have been extreme in her reaction, you do not want to break the trust of the mother. Kudzu is strong willed anyway, but with the incentive to protect Chima, she would be able to take on legends." I gulped at Vesper's calmer and more accurate consequences of my decision.**

"**I'll take that into mind, thank you" I forced a chuckle to hide my fear. After our conversation, we all turned out attention to what all the kids were doing.**

**Chima's POV**

**I was so excited, we were going to play a game of tag, but I was more excited about the fact that I was making new friends. I could see Taphyn talking to the Umbreon and Vaporeon in the distance. "Chima, this is everyone. You've already met Cora. That is Sae" Ivy pointed to the largest of the group "He's called Nik" she pointed to another Eevee, he was not as big as Sae, but was still bigger than me. "And those two there are Jade and Dylan. They're twins" Ivy explained. All of the girls smiled at me "What's your name?" Ivy asked**

"**I'm Chima" I quickly replied. I felt nervous, but excited at the same time, **

"**The way you tag someone is by either headbutting them lightly or nipping at their tail, and since you're new, you will be 'tag' first GO!" Ivy said as they all rushed off in different directions, I decided to chase Sae, because I could see that despite his size advantage, he was the slowest. I felt my heart race as I was very soon catching him, when I go within range he turned, so I lunged for him and head butted his tail, so he immediately changed his direction as he charged for Cora who had witnessed me catch Sae with relative ease.**

"**You can't get me" she shouted to Sae, who obviously couldn't keep up with Cora's speed. However, what I didn't notice was that Sae had re-directed his attention to me, and was charging at me. I noticed at the last second and quickly dodged Sae and ran as fast as I could, quickly outrunning him. In all the excitement and looked back to see that he was giving up his pursuit of me, but then 'WHACK!' I fell to the ground feeling slightly queasy, but I quickly regained my composure enough to see that I had accidentally run into Ivy. Ivy shrugged off the hit, smiled at me and then ran away again, just in case anyone was after us again. I turned round to see that Cora had been tagged by Sae because she let him. Cora caught my gaze and returned with a sly smile, and then she started to sprint towards me, maintaining that mischievous smile of hers. I darted away, and to my surprise I was even getting away from Cora. "Get…..Back….Here" she yelled in between pants, it was becoming obvious that this chase was tiring her, and she was surprised that there was someone who could outrun her. I looked back to see that Cora was still trying, so I decided to put on another burst of speed, and very soon Cora was getting smaller and smaller. Finally I could stop to rest. I watched as Cora quickly tagged Jade, and then fell down out of pure exhaustion from chasing me. Because I was pumped full of adrenaline, my already heightened senses must have heightened further, because even when they were far away, I could here them almost as if I was right in front of them. **

"**Hey Cora, what's it like not being the fastest anymore" Dylan teased**

"**Be quiet you. He just got lucky and I wasn't expecting it" Cora grudgingly said that last sentence "He is quick though, it's no wonder you haven't been able to keep up with him" Cora teased back at Dylan. **

"**TAG!" Jade shouted, as she tagged Ivy. Ivy decided to stop my recovery from Cora's chase and started to chase me, and although she was still far away, I decided to run immediately because I was having so much fun.**

**We played tag for a while until "STOP!" Cora shouted "I HAVE A NEW GAME!" all of us came running towards Cora to see what the new game was.**

"**Is it tag?" Jade asked. Everyone looked at her "What? I was joking guys" she giggled**

**Sae asked "Is it play fighting?" **

"**No, I said NEW game" Cora said becoming slightly agitated**

"**Well, don't make us ask anymore questions, just tell us already" billowed Ivy**

"**I thought we could have races from here to that tree and back" Cora explained**

"**That sounds great"**

"**I love races!"**

"**Where do you get these great ideas from?"**

"**ahh, I am totally gonna beat you Jade"**

"**No you're not"**

**All of them were shouting in unison. I guessed that Cora wanted to race me, but instead "I'm racing the new kid first" demanded Nik who looked at me with a friendly stare, I accepted. I looked to the tree that we were running to; it couldn't have been more than three hundred metres away, so I knew that this wouldn't last long. However, I never actually saw Nik run in tag, he was more of the tactical player, he never got tagged because he was either hiding or when there was a chase, he would run to someone else who was slower and force the chaser to chase the other one; very clever. **

"**Are you sure Nik?" Cora asked, hoping that Nik would let Cora race me, but he shook his head.**

"**Cora, I've gotten a lot faster than when you and I raced that last time." He reassured her**

"**Okay, but don't expect this to be easy, Chima seems to be very quick, I couldn't catch him in tag." Cora warned**

"**It'll be fine" he smiled back at Cora, who was now a little upset that she wasn't racing me.**

"**Hey, I'll see who wins, I'm not that fast, and so I know I would lose. And I say that we have two races with three in each race" Sae demanded "Cora, you can go in the race with Nik and the new kid, and then Jade, Dylan and Ivy you can go in the next race" I was surprised how organised Sae could be when he was in control of everything. However, I didn't like the nickname that I was getting of 'new kid', and the only ones who didn't call me that were Cora and Ivy. "Get ready" I was caught off guard by Sae about to set us off "get set" then there was a long pause "GO!" all three of us sprang into running straight away. Cora and I edged ahead of Nik, and Cora was starting to get a lead over me. All I could hear were heavy breaths from all three of us as we approached the tree. Cora ran around the tree first, closely followed by me, and then about ten metres behind me was Nik. In the last one hundred metres it looked like Cora was going to win, but then I focused all my energy into my legs and didn't think of anything other than being fast, and very soon I surged past Cora who almost yelped in shock, she strained to make herself go faster, but there was nothing she could do as I overtook her and got past her by about five metres by the time I reached the finish line. Nik finished at least thirty metres behind me; all three of us were exhausted, but we had fun, and all smiled at each other. Cora staggered over to me. **

"**Well done Chima, I didn't know that you were so fast"**

"**Thank you Cor-aaagh" I screamed as the excrutiating pain of teething returned with brute force. Luckily Taphyn was already on his way**

"**Come on Chima, word is that Kudzu is going to finish early, we've got to get back before she does or else she will not be happy with you or me." And with that he quickly picked me up, and dashed towards kudzu's home. He stopped and quickly scanned the area to see if Kudzu was back yet, when he found that she wasn't back yet he quickly placed me onto her bed. "Okay, remember, you've been in here all day, and if she asks about the smell of other kits, just say that we had visitors. Oh I'll quickly fetch you some of the cold water to numb the pain". Taphyn left to get the water and returned very soon after. **

**Kudzu arrived later on in the day, and didn't suspect a thing, and as Taphyn was leaving he gave me a smile and winked at me and then he walked away. "How was it being with Taphyn and the others today?" she asked, obviously Taphyn had told her that we had 'visitors'. I shrugged, and then started to yawn, I was tired after today, and all the pain and excitement of the day had worn me out. **

**A/N: **Hope you liked it. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. I don't know when I'll next update, but it shouldn't be too long, so, just be patient until I've got the next chapter up


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **I can't believe I've managed to get this much done. Only a few years ago I would've struggled to write half a page XD hope you're still enjoying the story. I do not own Pokemon. However, I do own my characters in the story.

**Chapter 8**

**Kudzu's POV**

**Chima and I had practically spent the last few days isolated from everyone, but finally his 'teething' stage had started to fade, and he was in less pain now. I would now be able to let him go outside and play. I know what Taphyn had actually done, because what he didn't know was that whilst I was working I saw a group of Eevee cheering on others from a distance, and one of those Eevee in the distance was Chima. I saw that he won the race that he was in, and I saw that he even made some new friends, so I didn't interrupt. From what I could see, Taphyn had made a good decision, and as soon as he heard that I was coming home early he made sure that Chima was back home, and from what I noticed, Chima seemed in little pain. He told me that it was because Taphyn made the water ice cold, so the pain was numbed for a while. Taphyn did look after Chima properly, and made his own decisions despite what I had told him. And although I am going to scare him later, in time I am sure that I will thank him for being so liberal with Chima.**

**However, it's a new day, and both Chima and I are looking forward to a day outside our house that I'm sure Chima saw as a prison; I couldn't count the amount of times he asked if he could go outside, and like in his Eevee nature he even tried to escape a few times. By the end of some of the days I was exhausted, and I would only be able to catch him when he nearly bowled over in pain, so he never got away. I almost felt cruel for not letting him go outside, but it was for his own good.**

"**Can I g-" he quickly started to ask me the question that had been asked countless times for the past few days, so I quickly reacted before the question finished now.**

"**Yes, we can go outside" I replied in a tone full of relief. Suddenly all I could hear was loud yips of delight, which could have only come from Chima. He was grinning ear to ear at me, and I couldn't help but laugh at this sight, because only a few days ago he couldn't stop crying because of the pain. He started to rush outside, but I quickly used a small frenzy plant to block his way. "Wait! We haven't even eaten this morning; you can't possibly have the energy to run." Chima turned round and was grumbling to himself as I withdrew the frenzy plant and walked with him to our food supply. Chima could not reach the food, so I had to grab the food for him 'I guess he's still trying to hide his actual abilities to keep himself and Taphyn out of trouble, although I never actually saw him jump, but if he can run then surely he can jump, oh yeah, his food, right' I snapped out of my thoughts and then gave Chima his food, two Razz berries and a Pinap berry. The juices of the Pinap berry would do enough to keep his thirst quenched for the whole time we're out. I noticed Chima's newly grown teeth easily tore through the Razz berry's already soft shell; he had almost certainly finished teething.**

"**I'm finished; quick let's go!" Chima yelled. He was charging around the small home, dashing round everything; definitely 'Eevee-like' behaviour.**

"**Please Chima, slow down, you might hurt yourself if you go too fast, and you don't want to be stuck in here again do you?" I asked cleverly, knowing that he would immediately stop because he was desperate to play, and true to my prediction he stopped and sat quietly, waiting for me to let him outside. "I was thinking that we could go to the-" I was quickly interrupted by an overexcited Chima.**

"**Field, oh please can we go to the fiel-" he stopped mid sentence realising that he had just revealed that he had not spent the day at home like he was supposed to, so he quickly tried to hide his look of guilt "b-because i-it l-l-looked like f-fun?" I decided to stop him from trying to come up with excuses.**

"**I already know what happened. You don't have to hide it. It's not your fault; Taphyn should have never let you outside, but-" I was interrupted again, which didn't surprise me.**

"**Oh no, mister Taphyn was very good; I went out and made friends" he started to grin "And I didn't get hurt, so please don't be mean to mister Taph-" Chima barked quickly in defence of Taphyn.**

"**BUT" I raised my voice "but I suppose what he did has made you happier, and if you have made friends then that is even better. We will go to the fields" Chima smiled warmly at me, and then began circling my forelegs urging us to leave straight away. "We're not going yet. Look at you, you mucky pup. You need to get cleaned up right away." And with that said his face looked dissatisfied, and disappointed. I chuckled lightly 'I still don't understand how he can get so dirty. Every other Eevee I have seen has a shining coat and mane, but I suppose that will happen with time. I'm still new to this'.**

"**But I don't want to be cleaned. I want to go outside and play with my friends" he mewed sorrowfully, and sat down facing the floor, ready to endure yet another 'cleaning time'. **

"**I wouldn't have to do this if you actually stayed clean would it?" I lightly growled warning him not to respond; naturally he didn't argue back, probably because he was a little frightened by my growl. 'Come to think of it; when I was his age I was also quite messy…. which is quite ironic considering who I am now' I smiled and began cleaning the reluctant Eevee.**

**Chima's POV**

"**Have you finished yet? I wanna go out and play with m- ow! That hurt!" I whined.**

"**It wouldn't hurt so much if you actually looked after your fur, now hold still and it will hurt far less" Kudzu assertively replied, so I just sat down silently and endured the torture. For some reason every time I got a little bit of dirt on my fur, Kudzu would always then clean me, and it was getting a little bit annoying, but kudzu is a lot bigger and stronger so I can't stop her. All I want to do is go outside and play, so why can't I? Finally after what seemed like forever; she had finally finished. I charged straight outside into the forest. Kudzu followed behind quickly, making sure that I didn't get into any trouble. However, when I saw the field, it was deserted. There was no one there.**

"**B-but everyone was here yesterday. Why aren't they here? Do they not like me?" I bleated desperately trying to stop myself from crying. Very soon Kudzu was sitting right next to me, trying to comfort me.**

"**It's okay. Come on, we'll go somewhere else, and I'm sure they do like you. Who knows, we may see them where we go. I have a good idea of where to go" Kudzu turned and gestured for me to follow. I dashed to her, so that I was never more than my tail's length away from her, and soon we were re-entering the forest. As I followed Kudzu through the forest we passed many dens, and hollowed out trees, but I could see no Eevee, only their evolved forms, and every female that saw me nearly squealed at me as I looked at them confused. Kudzu would pull me closer whenever a male passed. I don't know why, but I get the feeling that it was to show the males something. **

**However, at the one point when I'm not looking 'CRASH' "Ouch! Hey watch it will ya, you little runt!" shouted the voice in pure rage, and when I opened my eyes I saw that it was a male flareon who did not look happy with me. **

"**I swear to Arceus if you even let an ember touch him. I will force you to remember the beating you're gonna receive" yelled a familiar vaporeon, Marina. Kudzu turned; shocked that someone who she barely knew was standing up for me. "Kudzu, Chima" she smiled to me "Go now, he will leave you alone. Oh, and if you're wondering where your friends are, just go to the glaciers. Vesper is looking after everyone there" Marina then turned her attention to Kudzu "She may need some help, because I'll admit, Ivy is hard work sometimes" Kudzu nodded and then we both rushed away.**

"**Why did he get angry at me?" I asked, still confused as to why one simple trip made the flareon get mad.**

"**It was because he was trying to show off in front of the girls, and you tripped him, but don't worry, no one was paying him any attention. He was just a typical hot-headed flareon" she explained in the simplest way so that I could understand. We both snickered at her observation of all male flareon.**

"**Why would he show off?" I naively questioned**

"**Don't worry. You're too young to understand." Kudzu replied nonchalantly, but I could almost tell she was laughing to herself. After a few more minutes of walking through the forest we reached a clearing, but this clearing had a very large lake; much bigger than the lake I went in previously, and its colour was a deeper blue. At the corner of the lake, the sun did not shine, and this meant that glaciers were able to form there. The glaciers were about three times the size of mine and Kudzu's home, but there weren't many glaciers. When I looked closer at one of the glaciers, I saw a very familiar group.**

"**Ivy! Cora!" I barked in their direction, and saw their heads turn to face in my direction, and before I knew it, I was sprinting towards the group. I ran through the shaded area and immediately I felt the difference in the temperature; even through my thick fur I could feel that it was a lot colder there. When I arrived I realised I was carrying too much speed to stop, so I tripped and tumbled until I stopped right in front of Vesper's legs. Kudzu promptly arrived and picked me up from my fall, then placing me with the other Eevee. I heard them giggling and snickering because I fell over, but I just smiled with them.**

"**Why did you leave? Were you hurt? Did you get tired? Or bored? Did you get scared of us? Did you want to go?" Ivy inquired; not leaving enough time for me to even reply to her questions, but I just shook my head when she looked at me, so she knew that I was fine. "Then, why did you leave?" she retorted. I couldn't explain it; I remember the word Kudzu used for it, but because my mind was becoming more and more erratic, I couldn't remember it.**

"**My mouth was really hurting, and mummy was going to be angry at mister Taphyn if I wasn't at home, so we went home, and now I feel much better. My mouth doesn't hurt as much, but it does hurt a little bit" I explained the best I could, and I thought I got the message across, but then I noticed that one of the group was missing "Where's Sae?" I inquired. The larger Eevee wasn't there 'but where is he? Does he not like me?' I pondered, but I was soon dragged away from my thoughts from everyone staring to their left at Kudzu and Vesper, but quickly re-directed their attention back on to me. However, I was too curious for my own good, so I began listening to the faint murmurs I could hear Kudzu and Vesper talking to each other in.**

"**I cannot believe how lucky Chima is. You saved his life at least three times already, and now you're his mother, that is an incredible story, and just look at him, he is adorable." Vesper giggled and Kudzu joined in.**

"**I know, you should see him sleeping; I swear you would almost die from how sweet he looks just resting there, giving the occasional whimper" Kudzu said almost boastfully, but without causing any envy from Vesper. I decided that I would stop eavesdropping to save myself the embarrassment of the conversation, and immediately Ivy was looking at me with her energetic smile.**

"**Sae has gone to the practice fields today." Ivy told me. **

"**What are the practice fields?" I asked. I had a rough guess in my mind that it was a place where they could practice their skills, but I had no idea really.**

"**It's where you get taught how to fight properly, and not just play fights like we do over here. Today and tomorrow are Sae's practice field days. And then the next two days are mine, Cora, Nik, and the twin's practice days. Ooh! I have an idea. Why don't you come along to our practice day then you can practice your fighting too." Cora suggested with a gleam in her eye and a determined smile on her face. It didn't take me long to guess that this was just so she could fight me.**

"**I don't know. I'll ask my mummy." I said cautiously. I trotted over to Kudzu and then I sat quietly, waiting until I was noticed. Kudzu turned her head and looked down to me. Vesper noticed that Kudzu's attention had shifted, so she mimicked Kudzu's movements and now I had both of them looking at me.**

"**What is it Chima?" Kudzu asked softly, immediately calming my nerves.**

"**Can I go to the practice fields?" I replied with a smile covering my fear of being denied.**

"**Well, I don't know if you're strong enough yet, and the-"Kudzu was cut off by an insistent Vesper.**

"**He'll be fine. He'll be under the watchful eyes of the Jolteon brothers, and they're perfect for helping out beginners. Most of the time, they just demonstrate, and they only ever show the attacks that Eevee are able to do. And if anything, it'll make Chima stronger." Vesper pleaded knowing that I would be happier if I was able to go.**

"**Well… okay, we'll see how it goes after one day, but if anything happens, then he must be kept out of harm's way." Kudzu hesitated.**

"**Great! Trust me Kudzu, I was also very nervous when I decided to let Cora go to the practice fields, but I found that there was nothing for me to worry about. Do I even need to say how Marina was, sending Ivy there?" Vesper teased.**

"**I think I can hazard a guess" Kudzu laughed "Okay you can go back to your friends now." I strolled triumphantly back to my friends who smiled back, knowing what I had accomplished, but the moment was interrupted.**

"**So, are you allowed to go?" Ivy billowed and shot me a confused look.**

"**Of course he's going. He wouldn't be smiling like that if he wasn't allowed" Cora rolled her eyes at her best friend.**

"**Come on, quick! We don't have much time left to play a game" Dylan and Jade shouted in unison.**

"**Does anyone have any ideas?" Cora asked, looking around at all of us. None of us had any ideas so Cora had to think up another game, or we could play a game that we have done before; although I had only been involved with two of their games. I assumed that they mainly played tag, because it was extremely fun. "I've got an idea!" Cora yelled "Can everyone see those blocks of ice there" she gestured towards a large amount of floating blocks of ice that covered the width of the lake in that area. "If we're careful then we can try and leap from block to block and cross the lake. Does anyone not want to do this?" Cora almost dared someone to say that they didn't want to try out the game, but the prospect the game was far too exciting to turn down. No one said anything; all that was in the air was sheer excitement between us. All six of us approached the floating field of ice, and took in the approximate size of each block of ice. All of them were big enough to let at least two of us on one block at one moment, but we agreed that this wasn't a race; more a challenge.**

"**Who's going first?" Ivy shivered in excitement.**

"**I will. I'm gonna be the first one to cross it ever" Jade shouted with excitement**

"**No! I want to go across first!" Dylan argued. It seemed that each one wanted to best each other, and be seen as the 'stronger twin'. However, in the middle of their argument Nik decided enough was enough and made a small leap onto one of the ice blocks.**

"**Neither of you are on there first" he boasted "you spent too long arguing, so it would only be right i-" Nik was stopped as he slipped on the spot and we all giggled at his karma hitting him at the right moment.**

"**You deserved that Nik. No one likes a bragger" Ivy taunted. Nik regained his balance and stuck his tongue out in retaliation. I looked at the nearest block of ice, it was about three feet away from the edge of the lake so I decided to try and leap onto it, because I had never actually jumped properly before, so I tried by raising my forepaws and the I pushed with my hind legs, and it worked out as a success. On the ice block I let out a sigh of relief. All of that had taken a split second to learn, and I was feeling rather proud of myself until I felt the block wobble a little bit as Cora jumped onto the same block. I nearly fell over when she finally stood up straight on the block. **

"**You first" She winked at me. I looked to see that the next closest block was about two metres away. I was nervous 'does she really expect me to be able to jump this?' I nodded at her and gave a sheepish smile.**

"**I may need a run up for this" I warned, so Cora stepped to the side and gave me a clear run up. I ran the full length of the block before quickly using the same jumping action as before, but in a much quicker motion, and I leapt through the air, but I had to quickly stop myself because I nearly overshot the jump and fell in, so I braced myself for the impact. I hit the block feeling little pain as I slid close to the edge, but I soon got up and regained my composure. I beamed a smile to the others and they all returned their own.**

"**Stay right there, I'm going now" Cora shouted as she leapt and just about made the jump. She shook the ice off of her leg and then looked at me with her cheeky smile. "I have the feeling that there won't be many of us left after this jump. Not everyone will make that. Maybe Nik, or Jade, but Ivy and Dylan cannot make the jump" she raised her voice to taunt the others, but it didn't work because Ivy and Dylan had already started to turn back at the sight of Cora nearly not making the jump.**

"**That's fine, we're happy watching you guys cross it" Ivy yipped cheerfully.**

"**You can do it Jade" Dylan cheered for her sister. **

**Nik stood at the edge of his ice block, which was closer to the next one; about one and a half metres, so he easily cleared the jump onto the next block which was slightly behind mine and Cora's, but easily within reach. Jade also took the same leap and made it with relative ease, and then she quickly jumped onto another one about a meter away from the previous block. We weren't even a quarter of the way across the lake, but it looked to be denser towards the middle, so it was only going to get easier until we got there though, we would have to stretch to make the jumps, but that was only another two jumps, so it wouldn't be much longer. "How far have we gone?" Nik panted.**

"**Less than half way. What? Are you tired already?" Cora asked, seeming concerned for Nik's health "You can go back if you want. It's not gonna be good if you hurt yourself just trying to keep up." Cora was almost ignored by Nik, and I felt bad that Cora's warning had gone unheeded.**

"**Nik, just go back. We're all worried now. You have nothing to prove, we would rather have our friend safe than risking themselves just to prove nothing. Please go back." I preached, hoping Nik would finally take notice of what we were saying to him. He looked up towards me, and I could see in his eyes that he was not feeling well. **

"**Okay, but promise me we will try this again." Nik pleaded.**

"**We promise" I replied, taking the leading role on this occasion. I sighed in relief as I saw Nik turn around and jump to the ice block behind him. However, just as we thought he made it to the edge, he suddenly, limply slid down from the block and fell into the water. Cora and Jade both screamed in terror. I was in a state of shock, but then in one bold moment I leapt back onto the nearest ice block and dived in to save him, and since Demyx had already taught me how to paddle, I could keep myself afloat.**

"**Chima! What are you doing?" Screamed Jade, but I was only focused on reaching Nik. When I got to Nik, he was still breathing, but he was shivering, so I had to be quick. I clamped my jaws onto the scruff of his neck and started paddling to shore. I was feeling tired and cold, but through sheer determination I managed to drag Nik to the edge of the lake. I focused all my energy on getting Nik over the edge, safely on land and I succeeded. However, I had tired myself out so much that I was too weak to climb out.**

"**Come on Chima! You can do it!" yelled Ivy. I took in all their cheers, and found an extra source of energy, and with all the strength I could muster. I managed to hoist myself all the way out, and then I collapsed next to Nik, who had woken up and was now breathing regularly, but was still shivering slightly.**

"**T-thank you C-c-chima. Y-you saved my life" he stuttered weakly. Obviously all the commotion had caught the attention of Vesper and Kudzu, because I heard footsteps approaching from a distance. I was too weak to shuffle around to face them; instead I was turned over by Kudzu and Vesper, who looked terrified. They knew this was no time to be shouting at us because what we did was dangerous. **

"**Chima? Can you hear me? Come on, please stay with me" Kudzu pleaded on the verge of crying. I coughed weakly, but I knew I would remain conscious.**

"**Mummy" I weakly uttered; Kudzu got her face right next to mine "I think….. I think I'm going to be okay. I…. think I am fine now. I don't think I can stand though." I said in between slight whimpers. Every single muscle I had was not just aching, but burning. I could see that Kudzu was slightly more relaxed knowing that I was going to be okay, but she then collapsed by my side and started crying.**

"**I thought I'd lost you Chima! Never do something like this again. I couldn't live with myself if you weren't here with me. You are my son, and I nearly lost you. I nearly couldn't do my main priority; keep you safe. I am so sorry. I am so glad you are safe now. Promise me you will never do something like this again okay?" Kudzu sniffled and looked at me. I looked deeply into her eyes, and nodded softly. Kudzu then stood up and wiped away her tears with her leaf tail. "Chima and I are leaving now if that is okay. I think he needs some rest after today. Vesper you should probably do the same. Nik looks fine, but he looks awfully shaken." Vesper nodded in agreement; Kudzu picked me up in her mouth; Vesper did the same with Nik, and each mother walked off in their respective direction. All the other children followed Vesper, which left Kudzu and I alone, going through the route we took originally. As I was being carried, I only had the strength to keep my eyes open and stare at the ground silently. After many minutes of utter silence other than the occasional sound of trees rustling in the wind; we arrived home. I was placed down on our bed where Kudzu then wrapped herself around me again.**

"**I promise Mummy" I smiled warmly; responding to Kudzu's earlier question.**

"**Good… Good. I think you will be okay for the practice fields, but you must stay at home tomorrow. Your body has been through far too much for you to handle today. I may not have gone into the water, but I still know that the water there is so cold that…. That….. Ugh I can't even say it." She sighed and went quiet again. I started nuzzling at her foreleg, which she returned by moving her head to mine and nuzzling whilst purring. I yawned out of sheer exhaustion and very soon after I fell asleep; shattered from the day's events.**

**Kudzu's POV**

**I was emotionally drained. I don't understand how one being could make me fell so worried, so scared. When I reluctantly got up from our bed, I stood over Chima, just staring at him for a while. Physically, he looked exhausted; even in his sleep; it was obvious that he was shattered. I walked out of our house and sat down just in front of it; too scared to leave, in fear that Chima may get hurt again. For what seemed like hours I sat there, just soaking up the relaxing atmosphere. It had been some time since I was last able to relax, but I still wasn't fully relaxed. I was still thinking about Chima. 'I guess this is what that Jolteon meant' I sighed and turned round to join Chima. However, I heard someone approaching at great speed, but they were clearly heavy footed, and I could tell who this was. Amara. And sure enough Amara came into sight and was still dashing tirelessly towards me. When she stopped, she started panting "I… came as soon a…as I heard" she gasped "How is he?" she asked**

"**He's doing fine, but I'm afraid you can't see him, because he is exhausted and he went to sleep almost as soon as we got home. I have other news though!" I nearly screamed with delight.**

"**What!? What is it?" Amara begged to know. **

"**Well" I smiled proudly "Chima has quite a lot of friends already, and he's going to go to the practice fields in two days" I cheered proudly for my new son. Amara shot me a look of excitement.**

"**Oh cool, maybe I'll get to teach him." Amara spoke, whilst almost picturing the lesson in her mind.**

"**I don't think so, you teach the advanced groups of Eevee, and the newly evolved Flareons, and since Chima is neither of them, you may have to wait a while" I chuckled and threw a wink at Amara.**

"**Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I can't change classes for a day. I could still-" I interrupted Amara.**

"**You will not be able to do that for one day. Also, I think at the moment I would prefer it if the older, and more docile Jolteon brothers took care of it. Okay?" I teased, looking to jokingly chink away at Amara's pride, but to no avail.**

"**I suppose you're right, but mark my words. I WILL TEACH CHIMA ONE DAY" she raised her voice and we both giggled. "Oh, I almost forgot. You and Taphyn have duty tomorrow, so business as usual. My smile dropped, and I turned serious again.**

"**But I have to look after Chima, I-" now it was Amara's turn to interrupt**

"**Don't worry. Demyx and I will look after Chima for the day. In fact, I have a hunch that Chima would like to see Demyx again" Amara winked back at me, reassuring me.**

"**Okay, but only if Demyx is there" I joked**

"**I'm sorry, but that's all I can stay for, because…well…I'm missing some of my work as we speak" she laughed and then zipped away, out of sight again. I went back into our home, curled up around Chima, 'being a parent IS hard' I thought to myself as I drifted off to sleep.**

**A/N: **Hope you liked that chapter. It was fun to write! :D. This has set me up perfectly for the next chapter, so that shouldn't be too long. So I'll update when I can, okay byee :P


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Here it is! Another chapter. I do not own Pokemon, but I do own the characters in the story. Hope you enjoy! :D.

**Chapter 9**

**Kudzu's POV**

**This was it. Today was the day that Chima was going to the practice fields, and I couldn't help but feel nervous, because I was leaving him in the care of someone else; sure they were professionals, but he is my child, so naturally I was going to be nervous. He was even more energetic than usual; running from me to the exit of our home continuously. However, the events of two days ago had left me shaken, so I had my doubts about whether Chima should go or not. **

**Yesterday I managed to persuade Amara to take my job for the day so I could look after Chima. When he woke up, he was groggy and couldn't balance himself very well. I had to be there with him everywhere he went so that he didn't fall over. It was almost like the day I found him; he was unable to do much by himself. However, unlike when I first found him, he seemed much more at ease, and was not scared; if anything he may have been too bold yesterday. For example, he tried jumping on me when I was sitting down and relaxing in the summer's sweet, serene air, but he only succeeded in landing face first just before me. I sighed and took him back to bed, where he stayed until he would think of something else to try. The whole day consisted of his attempts at tricking me, but they always ended in him falling over and me carrying him back to bed. 'Typical Eevee' I chuckled. Even through his aching muscles, he still wanted to have fun or cause mischief.**

**I nudged Chima awake gently and he began reflexively moving his paw to push me away, but then his eyes shot open and stared straight at me with a smile that was telling me he knew what was happening today. I smiled back nervously at him although I don't think he noticed that I was nervous, so he got up, scampered across to me and sat right next to me. His fur was actually clean and was shining like his eyes. This gave me relief because this was a sign that I was raising him properly, and it was showing. Each day Chima was getting stronger, quicker and more confident. "Are you ready for today?" I asked, turning my body to face him.**

"**Yes, yes, yes, yes!" Chima yipped excitedly, wagging his tail, which knocked against my leg, but didn't hurt at all.**

**I smiled at how excitable he was this morning. Almost every other morning he was very lazy, but it seems like after yesterday's rest, he has a new supply of energy, and since he saved Nik he has grown in confidence. "Remember what I said? If there is any point where you don't feel like you can do something, you must tell your teachers okay?" Chima looked at me glumly.**

**I could tell that he did not want to hear that; no Eevee would want to hear that. They don't think about the risks at first, they just dive into the action. "Okay mummy" he replied solemnly. I almost felt bad for telling him this, but I know he would do as he's told because we have a deep bond, and that was there from the very moment I found him.**

**After we finished eating, Chima was literally a moving ball of energy 'he must be really excited' I smiled, holding in my laugh. Suddenly I felt a sharp nip at one of my paws and saw Chima trying to make me move. "Hey! Stop that, it's not very nice to do that!" I sternly said to Chima, which caused him to recoil in shock and fear. I immediately regretted raising my voice at him, so I walked towards him; Chima wrapped his tail around his body, and buried his face deep in his paws. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to raise my voice like that. Please, I won't do this again, but you have to not bite anyone; maybe tap me next time or call for me, but biting someone is wrong okay." Chima slowly nodded. "Now come here" I said warmly, and Chima slowly paced towards me until he was close enough for me to lean down and nuzzle him to show I was sorry. 'How could I have been so harsh to him?' I silently quizzed myself, trying to dig out any answer, but gave up when Chima started returning my nuzzling with his own.**

**I then ushered Chima out of our home, so that we could venture to the practice fields. At any point I could've turned back and stopped Chima from going, because I was still worrying whether he was ready or not, but I couldn't be selfish and stop him. His sadness would almost crush me. When we arrived at our destination, we were one of the only few there. I saw Amara getting ready for her class, today she had the more advanced Eevee who were close to their evolution, so she had to prepare them for the changes they may experience, she did this with each one type by type, which I had to admit was a good idea. "I think only the teachers are here at the moment, so I'll stay with you until the others turn up" I told Chima, and he smiled at the suggestion. It was then I saw his teachers, Larxene and Cutter; both Jolteon, and both brothers. They noticed Chima before they noticed me and came walking up to us, smiling gently at Chima.**

**They both looked at me "Who do we have here?" aksed Cutter, looking back down at Chima. Chima sat still, not in fear, but he was looking at them, because other than Avo, he had never seen Jolteon before.**

**I step forward slightly to redirect their attention "This is Chima; he will be in your class today. It's his first time today, so be careful, and if he gets hurt jus-" I was interrupted by Larxene's cackling.**

"**Haha, "if he gets hurt"" he mocked, but then toned down when he saw me glaring at him. "You have no need to worry. Chima is in safe hands and we will look after him to our best abilities" he winked at me, smiling whilst I gestured for Chima to join their side.**

**I gently nudged Chima "Go on, go over to them, they'll be looking after you" and almost as if it was planned, we heard shouting. We all turned our heads to see that it was Cora, Ivy and Nik rushing ahead of Jade and Dylan who were walking with Vesper and Marina, trying to look as composed and mature as possible, but immediately started running when they saw Chima. I smiled down at Chima and nodded, so he rushed to their direction as well. When the party of Eevee met in the middle, I could see that Ivy was telling Chima about something. "I'll be back when it's finished" I told the Jolteon brothers and they nodded, so I turned and went to go work with Taphyn, like I was meant to the day before. He would be glad to see me, because he was always a little cautious around Amara, due to her being easily excited, she could burst out flames without even thinking, and only I knew how to control her. As I re-entered the forest, I looked back; seeing the group of Eevee all talking, and then I turned and headed to my next destination, where Taphyn would be waiting for me.**

**Chima's POV**

**I noticed that Kudzu had left by now. "Where is mummy?" I asked, looking into the distance. The two Jolteon brothers approached us and then sat down, waiting for us to quiet down to listen to them. I was the first to stop speaking, and soon the others followed my actions.**

"**Hello children" the brighter coloured one started "I am Larxene, and this is my brother, Cutter." He introduced his brother proudly "and we are both going to teach you some of the basics of fighting, but remember, only fight when you need to or if there is an emergency. Also, the only place where real battles are permitted are on these practice fields, and you must never battle an opponent through spite and hatred okay?" we all nodded, accepting the conditions in which we were allowed to fight. "Shall we begin?" he turned to his brother smiling. The other Jolteon nodded and we were led to a beautifully grassy area of the practice fields that were soft on my paws.**

**I was looking down at the floor whilst I was walking, so I didn't notice that everyone else had stopped "Excuse me. Would you mind coming back? We're gonna need the entire group" Cutter joked. Although he looked more menacing, he seemed to be the more lax of the two Jolteon. I walked back to the group, smiling out of embarrassment, but no one seemed to mind my little 'slip up'. "If you could all line up" he looked towards an area of grass that was slightly darker, but there was only a small patch in a line.**

**Confused, I decided to ask why that patch of grass was darker. "Excuse me mister, but why is that grass darker than the rest?" he smiled, almost like he expected the question.**

**Then the other Jolteon stepped forward and explained "That patch there was specifically made so that when the class is watching, they all know where to sit." I smiled, just about understanding what he said. 'Right, so I've got to sit on that patch….I think' I shrugged and walked over to the patch of grass that was free, because everyone else seemed to know what to do 'why me?' I thought.**

"**What attack does anyone want to see first?" Cutter asked us.**

**Ivy suddenly jolted up "Show us hydro pump!" I saw Cora sigh and then smile gently at her friend's eagerness to learn…..the wrong moves, because they're impossible for an Eevee or a Jolteon to learn; one because of their type and for Eevee, the move is too advanced.**

**Cutter laughed and then asked again "Are there any moves that you would like to see that we can actually teach you?"**

**Ivy jolted up again, but was soon sitting back down when Cora glared at her, which told Ivy to not risk saying anything silly again. I was trying to think of something, but I couldn't remember what it was called, all I remembered was that it was a very basic move. 'Come on think! ...wait. Tackle, yeah tackle' "Tackle, can we see that?" I shouted to the Jolteon who was standing in the middle of the particular practice field.**

**The Jolteon looked at me and smiled "Ah tackle, good choice young one. Larxene, please step into the middle of the field so we can demonstrate a tackle to these kits" he said, the whole time looking at us. When the other Jolteon got to the middle, Cutter was at the edge on the left, directly looking towards his brother. They both nodded at each other, and then Cutter began running towards his brother. Larxene acted out a bad dodge, so that it looked like he was making some effort, but Cutter's tackle directly hit into Larxene's rib cage, and Larxene fell onto his side with a loud thud, but because the grass here was so well kept, the pain of the fall would have been much less painful than the tackle itself. We all stared in amazement at how strong the tackle was, and I immediately knew that Cora would want to be the first to learn it, but so did I.**

**Larxene got to his feet, and walked over to where there were a pile of berries, he took one and quickly ate it, and his condition improved so he was back to normal again. "That is how to do a tackle, and guess what. All of you are going to try it out too, so get to the end of the practice field and line up. Larxene, I'll take this one for you" he winked towards his brother who smiled in agreement "The way to do a tackle is to charge at your opponent and then at the last moment you must jump slightly and lower your head, and then you will have made a successful tackle."**

**Cutter stood in the middle, waiting for us to charge. Ivy decided that she would go first and began to charge at her full speed, and then just before she was in front of cutter, she leapt slightly, lowered her head and slammed into Cutter's back leg, but then she rebounded off, seemingly without doing any damage to Cutter. "If you were to jump a little later and look forward as your head moves down then you would have maintained more power, but because you jumped to early, some of the power was lost." He explained to Ivy, who nodded, and bounded back to our group. This cycle of us trying to tackle, and only rebounding of him continued with Jade, Dylan and Nik, but next was Cora, and she looked determined to get this right. Watching all her friend's mistakes was perfect because this meant that she had a better idea of what was right. Cora bolted towards cutter, and with less than a meter in between the two, she jumped and quickly lowered her head, whilst maintaining her focus forwards. She collided with Cutter's ribcage, and made Cutter step to the side a little to regain his balance.**

**A smile came across Cora's face as she knew that she had succeeded, and had learnt the move tackle. "Well done Cora, you clearly know what to do" said Cutter. Everyone then turned to me except Cora because she was still walking back, thinking about her achievement. "I believe you are next" Cutter called, snapping me out of my daydream. I began to run at my full speed, and before I knew it I was only about five metres away from Cutter. I closed my eyes to gain more speed, and then I quickly jumped, opened my eyes and lowered my head to throw my full weight into the tackle, and as I hit, I felt Cutter stumble back a bit, again due to nearly losing his balance. To land I pushed myself off of his body and land on all four paws without any trouble.**

"**Wow! That was really good Chima, and the way you landed after the attack made it look like you already knew how to do that, or is that why you wanted us to do tackle?" Larxene joked and smiled towards me, almost looking proudly at me. I slowly walked back to the others where we would be told what to do next. "Right" Larxene started "What we would like you to do is pick a partner" immediately Ivy went to Cora, the twins stuck together, and I was paired up with Nik "Okay, now we would like you to have your own battles, using tackle. Do not worry about getting seriously hurt; we will stop the battle if there is any cause for concern. So, who's going to go first?" he asked, and we all exchanged looks until Nik stepped forwards and volunteered for us to battle first. I soon followed, and we were guided by each Jolteon to our respective side of the practice field.**

**I stared down to the other side of the field, and saw Nik glaring at me, showing that he was ready for a battle. I began to grin in excitement of my first battle. "Are you both ready?" called Cutter, and we both nodded. "Okay" he smiled "begin!" and with the signal given, Nik rushed towards me at full speed, so I decided to stand my ground until he was close enough for me to judge the right time to dodge. However, I left it too late, and Nik crashed into me and hit my skull, so I quickly retaliated by running forwards to make his landing more difficult, which would allow me some time to recover and plan my next move. As I had hoped, Nik lost his footing on the landing, so I charged at him as he was getting up and made a direct hit to his side, and Nik was thrown a few feet in the direction he got hit, but he wasn't going to back down so easily and got back up with a look of determination in his face as he charged again, but this time, I moved out of the way at just the right time, and Nik went straight on instead of stopping so that he could get some distance away from me.**

**Nik turned and looked at me "Are you done yet, because I'm just getting started" he taunted, and that started his next attack, which I dodged again, and the same scenario happened, until I decided to go on the offensive, after wearing him out. I started running towards him, and he responded by running away, but then I felt a surge of energy and speed, like the one I had in the race against Cora and Nik, but this surge was much strong, and within the blink of an eye I slammed into Nik's back leg and caused him to tumble to the ground in pain.**

**Cutter came running in "Okay, that's enough for now" he said softly "Let me get a look at that hit Nik" he inspected where I hit Nik "Ooh, that looks like it hurt, but you should be fine" he turned to face me "And you, oh my Arceus, you were just" I braced for the telling off I was going to receive "Well, you were incredible! I can't believe that you've learnt quick attack so soon after learning tackle, and a strong quick attack at that. You are very good, and I expect you to keep this progress up" he cheered hopefully. I looked over to everyone else and they were looking at me with amazement, except Cora, she looked at me with the same look of determination that she had after seeing the demonstration of a tackle. I knew she also wanted to learn quick attack, and do it better than me. "Who's next?" asked Cutter, whilst Nik was lightly limping back. Cora and Ivy stepped forward at the same time and were already walking towards their end of the field.**

**The girls bowed to each other. "Begin!" shouted Larxene. And both girls raced towards each other. When they were only a few feet from each other, Cora changed direction to dodge, but Ivy was going to fast and smashed into Cora's side, sending her through the air a few feet, where she landed with a small thud. Cora stood up weakly, but it didn't look like she was tired. Ivy made another dash towards Cora, and again made a direct hit on Cora. Cora stood up slower than before, but she maintained a smile on her face. 'How many more hits can she take' I wondered, but I was sure that Cora knew what she was doing. Cora swiftly dodged Ivy's next attack, and immediately began charging towards Ivy at a greater speed, but when she made contact with Ivy, the hit barely made any impact. Cora stopped, looking shocked at her lack of power against Ivy. However, she stopped thinking about it when she saw Ivy charging at her again, but this time Ivy was going so quick now that you could almost see a silhouette of her was forming behind, and she slammed into Cora, knocking her back and causing her to yelp in pain. This time Larxene was the one to go over and inspect Cora's injuries. "It probably hurts more than it's done in damage, so you will be fine, here, have one of these. They will help you recover quicker" he smiled, leading Cora to the pile of berries, and giving her one.**

**Cutter turned and smiled at me again "It looks like you've inspired others to be like you already" he said, and then turned to Ivy "Well done Ivy, you clearly know how to battle" he smiled, but It sounded as if he was less impressed, even though she had just done the same move as I had. "I believe that we only have one battle left, so, would you kindly step onto your side of the field" he gestured to the twins, who did as they were told.**

"**Begin" shouted Larxene, and the battle began much like mine and Nik's. Jade was charging towards Dylan, but she held her nerve and waited until the last second to jump out of the way, but then it was almost like they switched roles when Dylan charged at Jade, and Jade was waiting for the right time to dodge. This continued until Dylan managed to get a hit on Jade's shoulder, and Jade yelped in pain as she felt the pressure overpower her balance, and she flew backwards through the air a little bit. And as soon as Dylan saw her twin down, she could sense victory and charged in for another attack just as jade was getting up. The second hit was all that Jade could take. Jade began whimpering slightly, and this signalled that the battle was finished, so Cutter went to help out Jade, whilst Larxene walked to us, but we didn't know what there was to talk about after that, so as he approached, we were left guessing.**

**Larxene stopped in front of us and explained "Now what we're going to do is split you up into two groups so, Chima, Nik and Ivy, if you could come with me. And Cora, Jade and Dylan you stay with Cutter. Having two groups will speed up the learning process, so this is how we will be doing this tomorrow as well, in the same groups too." And then we followed him; I turned to look back at Cora who seemed hurt that she wasn't in a group with Ivy, Nik and I, but there was nothing I could do about it. Although Larxene never said anything; it was obvious that the groups were split on skill level, my group being the more advanced. I realised I was lagging behind, so I picked up my pace and caught up with my group.**

**We were walking away from the practice field we were originally on, and we were heading to the field where I could see plenty of Eevee who were even bigger than Sae, which told me that these were the Eevee who were a lot stronger. "Children, we are lucky enough to have some extra spectators today" announced a familiar voice, which caused all the Eevee to look at us. And then I remembered who the voice belonged to; it was Amara's voice.**

**Amara appeared in front of her class and smiled when she saw me "Amara, it's me!" I called, and she approached me to gently nuzzle me quickly before turning to her class where I could spot some of the female Eevee were 'aww'ing at me again because of how small I was. **

"**They, along with all of you will watch Larxene and I battle and try to look for what we do, so that you can learn, especially anyone who is considering becoming a Jolteon or a Flareon, but it is still important for the rest of you to watch how to brace yourself for an attack that you know will hit you. This also applies to you three as well" she said looking at our small group, so we nodded. In the distance I could see Cutter's group still trying to master a tackle attack. I turned my attention back to Amara and Larxene who were now on the practice field.**

**An Eevee stepped forward and said "begin!" and with the signal called Amara let a stream of fire loose from her mouth, but Larxene used agility to dodge and he appeared next to her and used thunder fang, the attack hit Amara's foreleg, but she soon shook it off, and charged at a blistering speed towards Larxene, when suddenly she started spinning and was then enveloped in a massive ball of flames. The flame wheel made a direct hit with Larxene and he was sent flying backwards where he quickly reacted and landed on his paws, although a little shaken and in pain from the attack. And before Larxene could strike again, he became trapped in another stream of fire from Amara's flamethrower attack. However, Amara didn't know that through the flames Larxene was dashing towards her with a volt tackle, and within seconds she was hit hard and was thrown back almost off the practice field, but through sheer determination she was able to stand up and release a fire blast that shot its way towards Larxene, so he countered with a thunder attack. At the epicentre of where the two attacks collided, an explosion was the result, and this sent both Amara and Larxene back a few metres where they both lay down on the ground, where the same Eevee that started the battle rushed over to Amara and gave her an Oran berry. I decided to get a berry for Larxene, and did so in no time. **

**I gave the berry to Larxene "That was a great battle. How did you survive in the fire?" I asked, in awe of the events I saw before me. Larxene ate the berry straightened up, and then I walked alongside him as he went over to Amara.**

"**Good battle" he said with a tired smile on his face.**

"**Yeah, you really pushed me hard out there, you've obviously got better since last time." Amara puffed, clearly as tired as Larxene. Amara stood up and faced her class "And that is how you battle" she said. All the Eevee were amazed at what they had just witnessed. "Right, who wants a quick battle then?" she asked. All the Eevee went quiet, thinking that they were going to fight Amara; even I thought that's what she meant. However, when she realised what she had said, she quickly corrected "I mean, is there anyone who wants to have a battle in front of the class, and you're not against me" she laughed.**

**Larxene stepped forwards and looked at me "I volunteer Chima to battle" I was shocked; surely I wouldn't stand a chance against these bigger, stronger Eevee, so why was he volunteering me?**

**Amara looked almost as shocked as me "Are you sure? I was talking to my class, but if you think he can hold his own with these ones, then I guess we could give it a try." She smiled, and then looked to me "Do you want to have a battle with one of these Eevee Chima?" I felt like saying no, but I didn't want to let Larxene down, so I nodded, and walked out onto the practice field. "Who would like to battle Chima?" Amara asked, and immediately all I could hear was all the Eevee squabbling over who would get to battle me, because they were all confident that they would win due to the fact I was a lot younger than them. "Okay, I guess I'll have to pick" and then the squabbles turned to grumbles. "Cada, I would like you to battle Chima since this will probably be your last battle as an Eevee" she pointed to one of the Eevee who excitedly bounded onto the practice field. Cada was clearly a male and a confident one in his abilities, and I could see all that just by the way he entered the practice field, so being a little bit nervous was an understatement.**

**Amara shouted "begin" and very quickly I could see that Cada was charging towards me with a quick attack, so I made a dodge with my own quick attack, which I noticed was still quicker than his. 'Am I really that quick?' I questioned myself whilst dodging away from another quick attack. When I noticed that Cada had stopped to catch his breath, I decided to strike back and I hit him with a tackle in the shoulder, and he winced slightly in the pain, but only leant to the side slightly. The tackle had much less effect on him as it did on Nik, so now I knew that I had to wear down my opponent before he had the chance to strike a blow, but I didn't know if I could keep this up. I darted away from Cada straight after my attack, but when I turned around to see him, he was gone, but I saw a hole that had been created in the field.**

"**He's using dig" shouted one of the Eevee watching the battle. I stood firm, waiting for him to appear. Suddenly, I felt the ground beneath me shaking, so I dashed away from the shaking, but that turned out to be false, because it was where I had dashed off to, was where Cada jumped out and slammed into my stomach from below. I landed on my paws, and tried to shake off the pain. It was then that I'd noticed that he had disappeared again. This time I decided to stay where I was no matter what, because I already had Cada's trick played on me once, so I wasn't going to fall for it again. The ground started shaking again, but I held my nerve and stayed put. However, Cada obviously knew that I was going to stay where I was so he landed another blow to my stomach, but I wasn't going to give up that easily, so when I landed on my paws again, just as I had expected, Cada was using dig again. I decided to make use of the tunnels that Cada had already formed, so I dived into the first hole that I saw and found myself scrambling through the tunnel until I decided to stop.**

**I heard Cada's voice "What the? Where has he gone" I decided to jump out and surprise him, so I used quick attack to rush out of the tunnel, and just as I thought I could see the light, it was blocked by Cada's face, and I scored a direct hit on Cada who yelped in shock and pain from the unexpected attack. I stood before him, panting; he was panting at the same rate, but then he returned with his own quick attack, which sent me flying back several metres where I crashed to the floor, and I stayed down.**

**I had been defeated, but I was receiving many cheers from everyone. "That was incredible Chima, you show such great skill for someone your age. I am very impressed. I am sure that there has been no one that I've taught before that has learnt as fast as you. You must move up after tomorrow, there is no question about it." Larxene beamed as he was hailing me with praise. **

**Cada approached me and smiled kindly towards me "That was a great battle, and even though you're a lot younger than me. I'll admit, I was worried I was gonna lose. I hope we can have another battle someday, when we're both stronger. Who knows, maybe we'll have a battle as exciting as Amara and Larxene's. Do we have a deal?" He questioned. I looked at him for a moment, taking in what he said, and then I nodded, but I still had a question on my mind.**

"**What did Amara mean by "Your last battle as an Eevee"?" I asked. **

**Cada smiled and replied "Well, since this is my last lesson for another week, everyone thinks I'm gonna evolve in the next couple of days. I've trained specifically to evolve into a Vaporeon, which means that I'll be stronger and bigger. Unfortunately, that means that I will have to leave miss Amara's class, but I'll move to which ever Vaporeon teaches me." I nodded, not fully understanding what he meant, but getting the gist 'bigger and stronger' I thought to myself. A stronger Cada would be very impressive to watch battle. **

**I was given two oran berries and I quickly ate them, feeling my energy returning quickly, and Cada was doing the same, but he was eating the berries slower than me, savouring the taste. "Chima; come here please" Larxene called me over to where he and Amara were sitting "Amara and I have been discussing where to move you, and although you did manage to battle well against Cada, you are not even close to the point where you may evolve, so we've decided that the best place to move you to is Miss Crystal's class, and rather than hold you up for another day in my class, we also decided that it would be best if you started there tomorrow, so don't forget. Just look for the only Glaceon on the practice fields, if you arrive early like you did today, then it shouldn't be too hard." He explained this to me with excitement and pride filling his voice.**

**Amara then gave me a smile and began speaking in admiration "You know, I think you will turn out to be a great battler when you're older. When I was your age, I couldn't do a quick attack like that, and no way would I have been able to think up the idea of diving into my opponent's tunnel to attack them. It just made me happy to see some fresh ideas out there with the younger generation" she smiled at me again and nuzzled me again, then she raised her head and smirked "I bet Kudzu would like to see you do that. She's such a good battler. How about we get her and Miss Crystal to have a battle? I'm sure even Kudzu wouldn't deny the challenge of fighting against a type advantaged opponent." Amara grinned at the prospect.**

**With all the excitement that had taken place, I didn't realise how quickly the day went, and very soon, all the Eevee were leaving to go home. Then I saw Kudzu appear out of the forest and walk towards Cutter, and she looked a little bit uncomfortable because I wasn't there, but her confusion was short lived when she then looked across to Larxene and saw me. Kudzu walked over calmly to us and sat down in between Larxene and Amara. "How was your first day?" she asked me; her face beaming with excitement to hear about my day.**

**I stepped closer to Kudzu and said "My day was great, and I had so much fun!" **

**Then Amara got Kudzu's attention and told her "Chima was the star of the day Kudzu, he was so close to winning as well." Amara got Kudzu's attention.**

"**Winning? What could he have possibly been trying to win" Kudzu asked, clearly intrigued as to what Amara meant. Amara grinned, and then she let Larxene explain the whole day's events, and how incredible it was that I did what I did. When he had finished, Kudzu stared down at me in amazement, and I had trouble not blushing because I wasn't used to all this praise, and I could feel my skin changing colour as I blushed; thankfully I don't think it was noticeable through my fur. Kudzu shook herself out of her gaze and smiled at me proudly "Well, it seems like someone is quite the little battler" and I beamed a cheerful smile at her whilst yipping happily, thanking everyone for their praise. **

**And then I remembered what Amara had been talking to me about "Kudzu?" I asked "could you have a battle with Miss Crystal? Please say yes" I pleaded, and looked at Kudzu with my 'cute' face on.**

**Kudzu sat still for a moment "I don't know" she hesitated, but I swore that I caught the faintest of smiles on her face. "Alright then, just for you" she quickly said before anyone would try to persuade her. We all thanked her, and then we realised that we were the only four left on the practice fields and the sun was starting to set. "I guess we all better get back to our homes" advised Kudzu, and she turned to me and gestured for me to follow, so we then started our walk back home, which was in complete silence due to the fact that I was very tired and all I could think of was sleeping, because having to battle really made my body physically tired, and I needed a nice, long rest. The first thing that I did when I got home was get to bed as quickly as I could, and I felt the familiar warmth of Kudzu wrapping around me. As I drifted off to sleep Kudzu said to me "I'm so proud of you Chima" and she nuzzled me until I was fast asleep. "I'm so proud of you" the words repeated in my head.**

**A/N: **That's chapter 9, I hope you liked it. I hope my battle scenes were as good as I hope, so fingers crossed I suppose. I'll update as soon as I can. Byee 


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **I've managed to get into the double digits of chapters :D I'll probably be making improvements to previous chapters soon, but hopefully I can conquer the 11th Chapter. I do not own Pokemon, but I do own the Characters in the story.

**Chapter 10**

**Chima's POV**

**I was woken by Kudzu at what felt like the same time, and we went through the same routine of getting ready, but in my sleep I had obviously been tossing and turning because my fur was scruffy and knotted. I managed to clean myself and take out most of the knots I could, and Kudzu did the rest of my fur without forcing me to whine or yelp in the sharp pains. I was given the same food as yesterday and I devoured it at the same rate. I was very excited, not only would I be in a new group, but I would get to watch Kudzu fight. I knew that she has already battled in front of me, but I was in too much shock to watch what was happening. I didn't know what to be more excited about, so I began running around just to try and stop myself from being excited. Kudzu stood in my way as I was about to change direction, and she stopped me completely in my tracks. "Please stop running everywhere" she chuckled, but then she became more serious "Are you ready?" she asked, and I nodded "Let's go then, we need to be there early so that we can find your new teacher. And if I know Crystal, she will be psyched to battle me, so I know that we will be battling. She has always been so headstrong that it's a wonder she didn't evolve into a Flareon." And we left our home, rushing to the practice fields. Our route definitely felt shorter due to the fact we were running, but I hadn't expected the journey to be as short as it was, because soon we were at the edge of the forest and we were looking out at the practice fields. I immediately noticed the two Jolteon brothers and rushed over to them whilst they were having a quick battle between themselves, exchanging electric attacks.**

**I slowed down when I saw Cutter charging up a thunder attack, but when he saw me, both of them turned their heads to look directly at me. "Hey, well if it isn't Chima. Are you excited about today?" Larxene asked and I yapped loudly in response to his question and he smiled at me. **

"**Well, looks like you'd better get back to Kudzu; she's walking past us in three, two, and one"**

"**Hello boys" Kudzu winked at them and the gestured for me to follow. I stepped next to Kudzu and nodded at her, telling her that we could go now, but she continued to look towards the brothers "I hope you are able to watch my battle today, seeing as it was your idea" she smirked, and started walking again, so I followed quickly behind. We walked past Amara and past another Flareon who was talking to Amara from a distance, and finally at the edge of the fields stood a Glaceon who appeared to be jogging around her field. The Glaceon's light blue fur was gleaming in the early morning sun; she looked so elegant whilst running on her field. She stopped when she realised that she was being approached.**

**The Glaceon was running towards Kudzu and I with a grin on her face "Kudzu, oh my Arceus it's been so long since we've talked, how are you?" her attention turned to me, but she remained speaking to Kudzu "Aww, he's so sweet, and small. I assume this is the same kit that you found in the woods?" Kudzu nodded. "And the fact that you're here must mean that Chima was the Eevee that was supposedly too good for his current class. Obviously some of your skills are rubbing off onto him.**

**Kudzu laughed at her friend's energy "Yes, that is why we're here, but I would also like to ask a favour from you." She paused**

"**And what would that favour be?" she beamed, her deep blue eyes twinkling.**

**Kudzu smiled "I ask that you and I have a battle in front of your class. To show them what all of their training will lead them up to if they keep going" she persuaded, not that she needed to because from the word "battle" I could see that the Glaceon was caught on the idea, ad was rearing to go.**

"**I suppose that would be good for the class, but aren't you making this too easy for me. I'm an ice type and you're a grass type, therefore I will have the advantage" she explained, and Kudzu shrugged in response. The Glaceon turned to me "My name is Crystal by the way, and I am your new teacher. Also, can I just say how great it is to meet you at last? Cutter and Larxene only had good things to say about you; particularly Larxene when he was talking about your strategies. Now, I don't know what they are but I am definitely looking forward to finding out." She turned her attention back to Kudzu "So, let's wait for my class to arrive, and then we begin okay?" Kudzu nodded and then sat herself down next to me; where she pulled me in and leaned down to nuzzle me. I felt warm in her embrace and began purring to show my appreciation; being around Crystal made me feel colder, even through my thick fur, I could feel that she was cold. Kudzu and I stayed like this until we heard other Eevee arrive.**

**I jumped away from Kudzu's hold because I instantly recognised the voices, it was my friends. "Hey! Over here!" I shouted for their attention, and soon they were all rushing in my direction; even Cora who had obviously cheered up since yesterday. Vesper was behind the kits, and when they arrived in front of me, she was clearly more out of breath than my friends. **

"**Chima, I know why you're over here" Ivy childishly gloated "you've been moved up a group" she glared at me jokingly and then started smiling again "but that means that we get Cora in our group now, so it's okay. And we saw your fight against the other guy. He beat you" she stated bluntly, causing Vesper and Kudzu to giggle.**

**Cora then stepped forwards as boldly as ever "We were told by Cutter that your mummy and Miss Crystal are going to have a battle, and he told us that we can watch" she grinned in excitement "would you like to sit with us when you watch?" I nodded, happy that I hadn't been left out by my friends just because I moved up. "I don't mind not being good at fighting. That means that you have power, but I have fi-fi-fine-finee- mummy, what was that word again"**

**Vesper sighed "the word is finesse, and although I haven't seen Chima fight, I'm sure he has finesse as well, so don't try and bring him down" she warned. **

**Within a few minutes, the practice fields were now filling up with the several different classes; I saw Cutter step into the middle of the whole field and launched a thunder attack on himself so he got the attention of everyone. "I would like everyone to go to Miss crystal's field. We are all about to witness a battle at its greatest. I insist that you watch this battle between Miss Crystal and Miss Kudzu." He announced, and immediately everyone started to heard around the practice field, although keeping their distance from the edges just in case an attack were to go off the field. I looked to see that Kudzu was no longer next to me, but was standing at the end of the practice field, I looked to the other side to see Crystal at the edge. **

**Amara stepped onto the side edge and called out "Are you both ready?" and both girls nodded, not backing down from each other's gaze. "Begin!" she shouted, and the battle commenced.**

**Before I could even look towards Crystal, an ice beam shot from her mouth and it directly hit Kudzu, who winced and puffed at the ice cold pain that must've been digging away at her health, but Kudzu did not fall back, or even move after the initial impact; she stood and took the full power of the beam, and as soon as the onslaught was over, a huge beam of light ripped through the air and slammed into Crystal, and she was sent crashing back. When Crystal was shakily lifting herself to her paws, Kudzu had already rushed to her and struck her with a leaf blade, but the attack was not very powerful, because the hyper beam had taken all the energy out of Kudzu for the time being, so Crystal countered the weak attack with an iron tail, and she knocked Kudzu down to the floor. Everyone was watching as Kudzu looked to be almost beaten. However, whilst Crystal was getting enough distance between herself and Kudzu; Kudzu suddenly began glowing, and soon her bruises from the previous attack were now fully healed, and now Kudzu looked even more pumped than when she had started. Crystal retaliated by unleashing a blizzard attack, which scraped past Kudzu as she avoided it and avoiding a lot of damage. Kudzu used the time taken for the blizzard to pass, by dashing towards Crystal, and surprising her with a much more powerful leaf blade than before.**

**Crystal skidded back and then quickly ran back towards Kudzu and used ice beam on the ground, so that she could gain speed by gliding across the ice. Kudzu smiled as she watched Crystal approach her "you took too long" she taunted, trying to contain her secret. Crystal kept going, but looked back at Kudzu confused. "You took to long for this!" Kudzu shouted as she opened her mouth and released a solar beam which made direct contact to Crystal's face and she yelled in pain as she crashed to the ground on her back, and before she could recover and get up Kudzu then smashed into her with a leaf blade, and before Crystal could even move after that Kudzu released a final hyper beam to finish the battle. The practice field was clouded by the dust from the high powered attacks, and when the dust cleared, Kudzu stood proudly, and Crystal was lying down in agony.**

**Amara stepped forward once again "I declare this battle o-" she stopped when she saw Crystal slowly rising from the ground, gritting her teeth and glaring at Kudzu.**

**She released a croaky laugh "I still have one trick up my sleeve" she challenged. Kudzu looked amazed, but then returned to her determined stance. **

**Crystal's body began emanating a light blue light and small ice shards were appearing around her, but then an ice beam was forming in her mouth. However, this ice beam was far larger and its colour was slightly darker. Kudzu immediately got ready to dodge the attack, but was still looking on at Crystal in disbelief "sheer cold" she muttered. Crystal let the orb of ice grow more and then released it as a furious beam that looked deadly as it sailed through the air and Crystal smirked when she saw that the attack was heading directly to Kudzu. However, Kudzu moved at the right time and bounded over the beam to release an energy ball to finally finish off the battle. **

**Crystal lied there beaten, but still breathing. Kudzu no longer looked triumphant; instead she looked concerned "Someone…. Larxene, get me a revival herb, and make it quick." She turned to Crystal's class "Do not worry children, once she has had the herb, she will be back to full health, although a little shaken after our battle" she chuckled lightly. Crystal began to stir and was given the revival herb. And soon, she was standing up firmly, and looking like she had never been in a battle today. "That was a great battle we had. Power, and tactics played a great part, and if I hadn't thought of my solar beam as quick as I did, it was anyone's guess on how the battle would have ended." She told Crystal who nodded at Kudzu, still speechless about the outcome of the battle. "I must go now. I have more work to do; I will be back for Chima when the day is done. Take care of him, and make sure that he doesn't get into ant trouble; he seems to be a magnet for it." She joked, and then headed off towards her duties for the day.**

**After Kudzu's brisk exit, I decided to go and see my new group. I was more nervous than before because I didn't know anyone in this group, and they're all going to be a lot bigger than me, which I still hadn't got used to. I approached the group, and they were tackling each other lightly in a playful manner, but when I got closer they all turned to look at me, confused. One of them walked up to me, smiling gently and spoke to me with a comforting tone "Hi there, I'm guessing that you're new kid everyone is talking about, and we all saw what your fight with Cada; it was incredible that you managed to stay battling against him for as long as you did. Cada is one of my friends, although he is older and now a lot stronger, so we see each other whenever we're not on the practice fields. My name is Harrison, and I'm sure you'll meet the rest of the group, but don't worry, most of them are friendly. However, I would try to avoid some of them when we start the lesson, because some of them just aren't right for the morning, but when the lesson goes on they should become friendlier, so I wouldn't worry." It was my turn to look confused as I was trying to take all the information in. now that I had moved up, I had to get used to being even smaller than everyone than I was before. I trotted over to Crystal who had now recovered completely, mentally as well as physically.**

"**I was in the beginner group yesterday, where am I now?" I asked, staring up at Crystal.**

"**Well, it may be easier to explain all of this fully. There are four groups for Eevee; yesterday you were in the first group, but because you were far too advanced a battler to be kept in the group, you have skipped group two and moved straight into group three. And group three is for Eevee who are from three to four months away from evolving, and when they're a month away from evolving, I let Amara teach them. So, do you see how the system works now? Obviously, you aren't even that close to evolving, so don't expect to move up as fast as you did yesterday." She explained, slightly mumbling the last line. "Oh, and another thing, since you are in a higher group than group two, you are allowed to participate in the battle tournament that takes place in just a week, it's a really good way to get the full experience of a battle, so I suggest that you make sure you enter it." She beamed excitedly. I then began following her as she walked towards her group, who had now stopped play fighting and were waiting for her to speak.**

**One of the bigger ones in the group stepped forwards and looked Crystal straight in the eye. "Well done today miss" he teased, but Crystal stood there, unaffected by the attempt of the insult.**

**Harrison shuffled to me and whispered "That is Lugan, and when I said we're all friendly, I meant all except him, I don't like the way he thinks he can win all the time, but I suppose the attitude come with the fact that he has won all the time" he lowered his ears "I didn't stand a chance."**

"**As you all know, we have a new student in our group, and I would like you to be nice to him, so please welcome Chima." I smiled sheepishly, catching Lugan's glare. "Now, as you all know, I believe the best way to begin is with a battle, so I'll pick your fight. Harrison and Amber, you two will be battling each other." I saw an Eevee give Harrison a cheeky smile, and Harrison returned with a grin. Crystal continued pairing us up "and finally, that leaves Lugan and Chima" she finished. I turned to face Lugan who was looking towards me angrily.**

**He began walking towards crystal and asked "Why do I have to go against the weak ones" he moaned "this won't even be a battle" he continued to moan, but glanced over at me as he said it, trying to get a reaction out of me, and it was working until I saw two shadows behind me. It was Amber and Harrison. **

**Amber stepped closer and flicked me with her tail "Your cute, but I've seen you fight, and we all think that you need to beat Lugan, so don't let us down short stuff" I didn't know how to take being called short stuff, so I released a small growl, which made Amber 'aww' at me once again. Harrison just shook his head and smiled as both Eevee left me in Lugan's gaze again.**

**We watched each others battles, and watched as some of the others showed there skills. However, from what Harrison had told me, Lugan was as good as he hyped himself up to be, but I couldn't let myself get put off by this. Although I was smaller, I appeared to be fast; I was quicker than Cada in our battle, so I had to use my speed to gain an advantage in my battle. I hadn't noticed how quickly the other battles were finishing, but I did notice how Crystal didn't stop these battle, she let her students keep battling until one of them could battle no more, which is why there were plenty of the revival herbs at her side of the practice field; this battle was going to hurt a lot more if it wasn't finished quickly either way. Lugan approached me, maintaining his intimidating glare, which scared me almost as much as Devin did. "You'd better be ready to lose you weakling." He insulted, but I didn't feel hurt at all; obviously all of his battle skills had wiped out his function to think of good insults. However, I still hated the word 'weakling', because although I was small, I was not weak, and I demonstrated that the day before against Cada. "All I'm gonna say is that you have no chance because let's face it; you're too small to even stand a chance of getting a good hit on me, and even if you did, I would've hit you too many times before, that I wouldn't even feel your hit." He laughed, and I was getting teary eyed in sorrow and frustration; I had to beat him, and shrink his arrogance once and for all. Lugan stamped off onto the practice field because it was our turn to battle "Hey! Weakling! You'd better wake up and get on the practice field, so I can show everyone just how weak you are" he laughed and began jumping on the spot to show off his fighting spirit.**

**I slowly stepped towards the field, but I was dragged back a little by Harrison and Amber "Listen" Amber started "be careful against Lugan, he can play real dirty sometimes" she sneered.**

"**Yeah, he will use the move bite whenever he is in desperate need, and if he gets you with bite, then you've just gotta hold on tight because it will be painful." Harrison warned, causing me to gulp in fear 'great, so now I'm against someone who is likely to cause me a lot of pain… great, thanks for the reassurance guys' I sighed, but I couldn't blame it on them, they were only trying to help me.**

**I returned to the practice field with knowledge that I wasn't sure was going to making me feel better about the battle, when Crystal stepped on to the field and shouted "Begin!" I immediately charged for Lugan, but he stood still and waited until he leapt out of the way. however, my initial plan was not to hit him, but was to turn left just before I reached him, and as luck would have it, Lugan leapt to the left just as I turned to the left and smashed into his side, and he yelped loudly in the pain as I heard something crack, but I wasn't sure whether it was from my body or his. I quickly dashed away before he had the chance to retaliate, and noticed that he was trying to chase me down, so I quickly managed to turn myself round and regain speed so that our attacks collided. However, we were both sent backwards, Lugan skidding far back to the edge of the practice field, and I did the same, but I didn't feel in pain, instead I felt pumped and ready for more. My energy levels seemed boundless as I made another charge for him. However, I stopped when I saw that he had gone, and yet again, I was faced with my opponent using the move dig. I jumped into the hole like the last time, but when the tunnel became flat, I saw a dead end. And that was when I realised that this tunnel was just set up for me to go in, and before I could get out, Lugan came charging down and slammed into me, ramming me into the wall of Earth from the half finished tunnel.**

"**Let's finish this shall we?" he taunted and began to use dig on the wall, but pinning me to it at the same time. The whole journey back to the surface I was in excruciating pain, and from what little of my senses I could gather, Lugan was enjoying every second of it. Finally we broke the surface and I was sent high into the air, whilst Lugan skilfully jumped out and landed on his paws, and watched me plummet to the ground. I hit the ground with extreme force, and I let out a huge scream in pain. Crystal came rushing towards me, but I slowly staggered to my paws and growled at Lugan, although he was unaffected by the growl, he knew that I wanted to carry on, so I stood shakily, waiting for Lugan to make his move, when I saw his tail shine like metal as he grinned evilly at me. I knew that attack, but I had forgotten the name; Crystal used it in her battle against Kudzu. It was iron tail, and I snapped out of my thoughts as I rushed as far away from him as I could "Haha, scared of me are you?" I shook my head, now feeling slightly steadier on my feet.**

**I bounded from left to right, trying to confuse Lugan, and it appeared to be working as his evil smile soon changed into the face of concentration. I managed to keep this up at an increasing pace, when suddenly I felt myself almost splitting into two, and then I saw another me, which then split into another me, and as I looked around, I saw several copies of myself. At first I was a little shocked, and so were the copies, but then I knew exactly what to do. I dived into the now completed tunnel and then made the extra copies of myself appear in a line through the tunnel, and soon I heard Lugan rushing through the tunnel at great speed "you really think that going in the tunnel is a good idea, considering what happened last time?" he joked. However, I managed to get out the other side of the tunnel and waited for him to emerge after destroying every copy. Just as Lugan appeared, I tackled into his stomach and heard him cry out in pain from the attack, but I carried on running and stopped suddenly which sent Lugan flying into a tree where he fell and lied down against the trunk, the impact had obviously caused him to faint, and this meant that I had won. However, I didn't bask in the glory of my victory; instead I limped towards a revival herb, picked it up and headed towards Lugan. I force fed some of the herb, which caused Lugan to stir. Suddenly, Lugan lunged at me with his jaw gaping and the he clamped his jaws down on my back. I howled in the immense pain that I was subjected to, his teeth had now got through the flesh and was causing me to bleed, and I cried as more pressure was applied, I could feel my rib cage being crushed slightly, until it all stopped, I groggily turned around to see that Lugan was now half covered in ice. I wriggled out of the hold, and collapsed on the ground, where I could see Crystal approaching hastily and putting her cool body on my wounds until the pain had been numbed, unfortunately when I stood up, I felt dizzy and within seconds I fainted.**

**I regained consciousness some time later, and saw everyone staring down at me. "W-what happened?" I asked.**

**Crystal looked at me sadly "Lugan played unfair again, but I think because you beat him, he couldn't take it, so he was really trying hard to hurt you, and I didn't notice until you were screaming. I am so sorry that I wasn't quick enough. I am afraid that your wounds are quite bad; he managed to bite right into you, and there was blood, but I managed to stop it. I promise you that nothing like this will happen to you or anyone again." she nearly welled up whilst saying that, as if she had let me die. I slowly got up and walked up against her, rubbing against her to comfort her, she slowly started to smile.**

**I noticed that Lugan was standing a short distance away, looking like he was feeling sorry for himself, but when he looked at me, he turned away in disgust. Amber came up to me and pulled me close with her tail. "You had everyone worried. I don't know why you bothered to even revive him; then again, I suppose that we should have all seen that coming. At least you know now; I just wish you would've found out in a way that involved less pain. I don't think I've ever seen him that angry before" she paused "to be honest though, I don't think I've ever seen him lose before either, so you are the first, and to make it even better, he wasn't expecting it from you. I loved that double team by the way." **

**I looked at Amber; unsure of what she meant "What's double team?" **

**She looked surprised at my question "How old are you again? Anyway, double team is where you produce several fake versions of yourself that vanish upon impact, but you can't tell the difference between the real and the fake, so it makes it harder for the opponent to attack you, because it is more likely that they will hit a fake, so the real you can attack whilst your opponent is distracted; simple right?" I nodded, still not entirely sure, but happy that I had learnt another move. I smiled and continued to relax in Amber's comforting embrace, so I started purring lightly, she shook a little at my response and began giggling "Getting comfortable are we?" she asked sarcastically, but kindly.**

**Harrison was walking towards us and smiling childishly at Amber and me. "You two are looking rather friendly" he smirked, but to save myself any possible embarrassment I quickly got out of Amber's grip and stood up again.**

**Amber looked at Harrison slightly bitterly "was there any need for that" she snapped "Chima has had quite a hard time in case you hadn't noticed, and then you decide to embarrass him. Be a little more respectful please" she paused and then her frown slowly changed into a grin "Oh, you weren't jealous were you?" she teased and Harrison was clearly blushing, so I left those two to bicker and walked back to Crystal who had began teaching again.**

"**And that is h- oh, Chima, what are you doing here, shouldn't you still be resting?" she asked, but I felt rested enough, and I wanted to do something other than listen to Amber and Harrison squabble at each other.**

"**I'm feeling much better miss, honestly" I pleaded, not wanting to miss out on the lesson.**

"**Okay, what I'm trying to teach is iron tail. If you want to learn that move then join in, but if you don't or already know it like that lot" she pointed to a group of Eevee including amber, Harrison and Lugan. I shook my head as a sign that I didn't know it. I stepped into the same line as the other Eevee learning the attack and watched Crystal as she instructed us "what you must do is picture yourself being the toughest being ever and then channel all of that energy to your tail, and if you do it right then you should be able to achieve an iron tail. I watched as I saw all the others try and some achieving a small glow from their tail, but no one could succeed in making a full iron tail. I tried, I pictured myself unbeatable, and soon felt the energy in my body, I then tried to channel that energy to my tail, and when I opened my eyes I saw that my tail was glowing, but not looking like an iron tail. Crystal walked up to me when she noticed what I was doing "That's good Chima, but I don't think any of the energy needs to go to your back paws" she said and I looked down to see that my back paws had a faint glow on them. I sighed and let the energy escape as my tail and paws lost their glow. "Try again, but this time, only picture your tail whilst channelling the energy to it." She suggested. I nodded with a determined look on my face and I closed my eyes again. **

**I pictured myself again in the same image, but this time, I focused on my tail in the image, and immediately I felt a significant amount of energy already in my tail. I opened my eyes and turned my head to see that I had an iron tail, and the rest of the class were staring in amazement at it. Crystal walked up to me proudly "well done. Now try it out by hitting it against that tree." She pointed to a particularly brittle looking tree, so I walked up to it, and looked back at Crystal who mouthed to me to hit the tree with my tail. I swung my tail as hard as I could into the tree and when I hit, it made a splitting crack noise as it toppled to the ground. Everyone was cheering for my success, and that seemed to help all the others because within minutes, most of the others had learnt iron tail as well, we all gathered and began cheering in our joint jubilations. Crystal stepped into the middle of our circle and congratulated every single one of us, and then turned to help those who still needed it. **

"**When I saw you get the iron tail, it looked amazing, and then when you hit the tree, you looked so strong. I knew I had to do it, just to be able to get close to that kind of power, you pack a big hit for someone so small…..and cute!" shouted one of the Eevee. I was starting to get used to being called cute, but I would've had to anyway because of my size in comparison to everyone else.**

**Crystal called us all over "I know you want to talk about your new skill at the moment, but we still need to carry on with your learning. As you all know, being an Eevee means that generally, you are fast and we are going to see just how fast. I have asked Luctis to join us shortly, and when she gets here you will all try and see how quickly you can cross the length of this practice field. An average Eevee needs to depend on their speed in a battle because Eevee are not as strong as most opponents, so you need to learn to be the first to strike, and keep on striking until your opponent is exhausted from having to try and dodge the attacks. This is important, so take it seriously." We all exchanged competitive looks; I knew I was fast, but I hadn't been watching the other battles to see how fast everyone else was; for all I knew, Harrison was quicker than me, but we were going to find out. **

**I shuddered a little at hearing that Luctis was going to be there, because she knew that I was once a human, even though I could only remember that I was a human and nothing else. However, I believe that I was more Eevee than human, because I had no human memories, just the knowledge of being one. Hopefully Luctis wouldn't make this awkward for me, that wouldn't be fair on anyone else, let alone me. However, Luctis struck me as a trustworthy Espeon, so I didn't worry too much.**

**We waited not to long until Luctis came strolling onto the fields and sat down at the edge of our one, "I will be timing you on how quickly you can run across this field, and from what I've seen before, the average is about seven point three seconds, with the faster ones running around five point nine, and the slower ones running close to nine seconds. Are we all set? Great, lets start." She closed her eyes to be able to get an exact time, and she would start timing when she had locked on the runner and when Crystal started the runner.**

**Lugan was first to go, and when he ran, you could see a slight breeze pass Crystal, but Luctis remained still, and he crossed the other side of the field "five point six seconds" she said nonchalantly. As the day wore on no one had beaten Lugan's time, and there were now only three of us to go; me, Amber and the Eevee who had spoken to me, but hadn't told me her name. I stepped forwards to the start line and watched Luctis, waiting until she had locked on, when suddenly I felt pressure around my body, but as quickly as it was there, it had gone. "Go!" shouted Crystal and I dashed for the other side of the field, and before I knew it, I was already there. **

**I stopped and turned round to see the result "four point nine seconds, well done Chima" she muttered, still concentrating on the next runner. However, I wasn't concerned about that, so I turned to find Harrison, and he was talking to the others, so I cautiously walked up to him, and began listening on the conversation unnoticed by everyone.**

"**He's so lucky to have someone like Kudzu as a mother, I'll bet that he'll try to get extra help from her, my parents wouldn't be able to help me enough, because I'm now the best battler in the family" one of them boasted**

**Another began laughing "No way are you the best in your family, I've seen your dad when he battles, the dark pulses that he can make are incredible, there's no way you can beat that." Then he changed back onto the first topic "it's no wonder he's so good to be honest. Kudzu is so strong, it's only gonna be natural that he's strong as well."**

**Harrison stepped in the conversation "Chima is not Kudzu's son, she just found him" he explained, but even though he didn't mean any harm, that really upset me, I thought of Kudzu as my mother now, and she saw me as her son, so why couldn't I be her son? Just because I hadn't been born to her that didn't seem to affect her. Unfortunately, they all noticed me now sobbing, so I decided to run off to Crystal "Ch-Chima wait, I didn't mean" Harrison begged, whilst others silently stared at him.**

**I wasn't looking where I was going so I bumped into Crystal, teary eyed and flushed. "What's wrong Chima?" she asked worriedly, but I couldn't stop the torrent of tears that were flowing out. "Please tell me what's wrong." She pleaded, but I couldn't stop crying, until I felt a familiar warmth wrap around me, it was Amber, and she was trying to calm me down, but all I did was cry into her tail, and continue to do so for several minutes until I calmed down a bit.**

"**I think I know what happened miss" admitted Harrison "I said-" he paused, and then walked closer to Crystal to whisper what he had set.**

**Crystal stepped back a little in shock at what had been said and faced Harrison angrily "How could you say something like that!? Chima is definitely Kudzu's child now, so don't you say otherwise" she snapped "Go and say sorry to Chima right now." She snarled, startling Harrison. And he rushed over to me and Amber with a half sorry, half scared face.**

"**Chima, I didn't mean what I said, honestly. I didn't know that you were Kudzu's child, I thought that you were… you know" I slowly looked towards him and saw an apologetic smile growing on his face. I couldn't forgive him so easily though.**

**I tried to speak through Amber's tail, but it came out muffled, so I raised my head and quickly spoke "What you said really upset me. I do see Kudzu as my mother and she does see me as her child. I am happy to forget this, but I don't know if we're friends anymore; we might be in the future, but at the moment, I only know you as a classmate" I frowned, and saw Harrison walk away glumly; I immediately felt bad for saying that and looked up at Amber to see what she though, she was just staring out towards Harrison.**

"**I know you feel bad" she said "and you know he didn't mean it, sometimes that boy just doesn't think right" she sighed deeply "I don't blame you for your reaction, I would've done the same, but Arceus bless him, he tries so hard to be nice to everyone, that sometimes he forgets what he's saying". We spent the rest of the lesson making sure that our earlier iron tails were not flukes, and I managed to re build my friendship with Harrison before Kudzu arrived and we left.**

**Kudzu looked down to me "What are those?" she asked, and then prodded at my bite wound from earlier and I yelped a little because it stung sharply "Sorry! Chima, who bit you like that, they can't have been battling fairly. And if you don't tell me, don't think I won't find out, because I can just ask Crystal" I looked back at Kudzu slightly bitterly.**

"**It was one of the older ones in the group, I tried to revive him, but then he attacked me out of nowhere" I snitched. I couldn't believe that I'd just snitched on Lugan 'am I really that childish now?' I thought as I carried on walking with Kudzu; she could see my frustration, but didn't know what it was about.**

**As we approached our home, my ears suddenly pricked up at the sound of something, so without saying anything I followed where the sound came from, and then the sound re appeared for another second, and I don't know why, but I was drawn to it. I looked back to see that Kudzu had followed me, but wasn't stopping, instead she was smiling a little bit. The sound reappeared, but this time it carried on forming music, and it sounded incredible, peaceful and beautiful. I followed the music with Kudzu in close pursuit. I came to a clearing to see Amara sitting just outside her home, singing in the afternoon sunlight. She smiled when she saw us and stopped "The sun is beautiful this afternoon, just like the day I evolved, and I couldn't help but sing to it" she blushed "This whole day is beautiful. Like I said, the sun is bright, but the day itself feels really gentle and relaxed. And I always wait for days like these, it tells me that something good is going to happen" she smiled and walked towards Kudzu.**

**Kudzu looked down at me "Okay, I should explain now. I knew all about what happened today, and I knew that you would be in a bad mood, so me, Amara and Demyx when he shows up are all gonna stop that bad mood your in and cheer you up!" she cheered. "However, what I didn't know was how good Amara was at knowing when we were at home".**

**Amara shrugged "Well it's not hard when I've known where you live for so long", the two of them talked whilst I lay down, basking in the sun's warmth, resting my body. I was disturbed just as I was about to doze off "Hey" Amara called "Don't think that you're the only kid here, I like to play the Eevee games too, but I thought that you might prefer to play games with your friends, so I asked Vesper and Marina if Ivy and Cora could come so that you have some friends to play with" she smiled and immediately I was no longer in a foul mood from being woken up "They should be arriving soon, so stay awake till then okay".**

**I waited anxiously for Cora and Ivy, staring out at the path where they would be seen from. I saw figure approaching in the distance and immediately became excited I started running round in circles, and then side to side as the figures got easier to notice, and my excitement wasn't in vane as I saw Vesper walking with Demyx, Cora and Ivy who were beaming massive smiles back at my own. This was going to be a good night.**

**A/N: **Hope you liked this chapter, and I will follow up as soon as I can, but don't be surprised if that takes a while, because I'm entering my exam period for the next month, but don't think I won't work at all ;) byee :D


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** I am happy to say that I have completed this chapter. Hope you guys like it; exams will be over soon, and that gives me a long holiday, so I'll be able to get a few chapters up in that time. I do not own Pokemon, but I do own the characters in the story.

**Chapter 11**

**Demyx's POV**

**I approached my home with Amara, Kudzu and Chima in sight; they looked excited upon our arrival, I had no doubt that Chima was happy to have some friends to play with, and the girls were happy seeing that Vesper and I had arrived. The short detour for me made my journey home not much longer, but I had to wait for Vesper and Cora to get ready, whilst trying to control Ivy who had been running round me in circles tirelessly. "I hope this was no trouble to convince Marina." I said to Vesper.**

**She shook her head and chuckled lightly "Marina was a little reluctant at first, but when I told her who was looking after Ivy, she quickly changed her mind; I suppose it's handy being so well known for your achievements in the clan." I blushed a little; I always found it slightly embarrassing when I was complimented. "Anyway, we're here now, so we can just enjoy ourselves. Right girls?" she looked down to Cora and Ivy who beamed up at her "Well?" she asked "Are you going to go say hello to Chima?" they nodded and rushed off towards Chima, and he began rushing to meet them in the middle. I then remembered that I had to tell Amara and Kudzu something before I forgot, so when we did arrive at my home, I let Vesper check on the kids whilst I walked into the house.**

**Whilst I was walking to the house, I got the attention of Amara, who told Kudzu to follow as well. "You two; the rest of the guild and I have decided that we would like you to go out and explore the forest beyond our clan's. we would like this to be on a two day schedule and you will be back here in the clan within those two days." I turned to face Kudzu now "If you see anyone in distress, do not even think of leaving the wounded. And if the wounded does happen to be any relation to our clan, then bring them in. in recent events, we have seen that although this is unlikely, you must always be prepared; apart from that precaution, the rest of your duty is the same as it has always been: retrieve any information on the outside clans, without being detected." I glared at Amara a little bit, because I know that she's loud.**

**Amara got my attention "You really think that there would be another Eevee would be out there in the woods by themselves? Maybe a wounded Nidoran, but not an Eevee. The only Eevee that ever walk in that forest out there are either trained ones, or the ones that have been allowed to go outside by our clan." She said smugly.**

"**And yet, Kudzu managed to find Chima being beaten senselessly by a Marowak, and we don't know where Chima came from." I agitatedly replied, which was rare for me, but I needed to show that I was being serious about this.**

"**Okay" Kudzu said calmly "We understand. We will help anyone who is injured. And Demyx, I would rather you didn't say that to Chima. He got upset earlier because one of the ki-" I interrupted her, and shot a look knowing what she meant. She stopped, stared and then shifted her mood again and began smiling. "Enough of this, let's go out and have some fun like we planned. Also, I think Vesper may be getting a little bored, being the only adult there, because I don't think that talking to a group of Eevee would be as interesting as talking with grown ups" she laughed and we followed her outside, and sure enough Vesper was lying down, talking to the kits half-heartedly, because the conversation wasn't on a subject that she cared for much. However, when she saw us exit the house, she said her goodbyes to the children and padded her way to us.**

**Amara smiled to Vesper and the two began talking about whatever those girls talk about, I didn't know because I was not interested, so I bean talking with Kudzu, but the only thing I could think of was Chima "So, how is he doing on the practice fields? I was told that he was there today and yesterday" I asked curiously.**

**Kudzu looked a little bit surprised at my question, but started to answer "He was moved up to the third group today, and was in there lesson. He won against that Eevee who once tried to attack Avo" she sneered at the Eevee.**

"**You mean Lugan?" I asked, and Kudzu nodded.**

"**Yes, Lugan." She had the look of pure anger in her eyes "Lugan bit right into Chima and injured him. After Chima revived him too!" she raised her voice a little. I looked over at Chima and saw small marks on him, but I couldn't see any real damage. **

"**That's terrible." I said "Is Chima in the third group because he's that close to evolving?" I asked.**

**Kudzu shook her head "No, he just seems to be really good at battling. I haven't seen him, but Cutter and Larxene wouldn't have moved him up if he wasn't that good." I was about to reply when I noticed more figure appearing in the distance of my home. I stood up and walked closer until I could see who the group were. **

**To my surprise I saw Taphyn approaching with a smile on his face, and the rest of the guild members behind him, all with the same happy expression on their face. Avo, Luctis, Devin and Taphyn had all decided that they would join the party. I guessed that Amara told them to come here as well, and that was fine, because I enjoyed their company and we could even show the young ones our battle skills on each type. Although I was a little bit nervous if I had to face Taphyn, even though I would have a type advantage.**

**Although Taphyn is always laid back and really friendly, the only one who could rival him in a full on battle is Kudzu or myself. When Taphyn is in battle, he says nothing and only deals the damage at the right time, but his tactics are always different, so it would be impossible to guess what strategy he would use. "Hey. Demyx, we're here. Let's get this really going." He shouted; sometimes he was almost like a child himself. **

**Chima's POV**

**Cora, Ivy and I were talking about our favourite berry when we all noticed that Demyx had stepped away from our group and was looking out towards the path that lead to his home, so we mimicked the direction of his gaze and saw that a group were approaching, and soon my ears twitched when I heard Taphyn's voice. I stood up and rushed past Demyx, with ivy and Cora in close pursuit. "Taphyn!" I yelled. Taphyn then started walking faster until he was getting away from the group he was in, and as soon as I got to him I jumped over him and onto his back. I then began talking directly into his ear, and then I was shaken off and was sitting down next to Cora and Ivy.**

**Taphyn smiled "Hello you lot. I haven't seen you in a while have I. I'm here because Amara invited all of us, and I think Demyx will have an idea to let us show you our skills" we all looked at each other and began yipping excitedly. Taphyn laughed at this "Woah, woah. Calm down, we don't know for sure, but I think I might be able to swing Demyx round to the idea." He winked and we resorted to trying to hold in our grins.**

**Cora then changed her expression and turned to me and Ivy "What game are we gonna play guys?" she asked "There's not enough for a real game of tag, and I doubt that we can get the adults to play." Her ears dropped at the prospect of no games.**

"**What makes you think that we wouldn't want to play?" said a voice; we turned round to see Amara and Devin smiling down at us. "We're still children at heart, right Devin" she beamed and Devin nodded whilst grinning. When I looked at Devin this time, he seemed a lot less scary, and he wasn't being so serious. However, I still wasn't sure, so I weakly smiled at him.**

**He noticed that I was feigning a smile "I'm sorry that I scared you so much at the meeting, I'm just used to questioning bigger, older beings than yourself, so I didn't know how to handle the situation properly. I'm not always that scary. If anything, the scariest is Kudzu, but that's only when she's angry" he joked, with a slight sense that he was telling the truth. I decided to accept his apology, and immediately we had Cora telling that adults the rules and saying how she is in charge of the game too. And without any further instruction we all began dashing away from Amara who had volunteered to be tagged first.**

**I was soon being pursued by Amara who was quickly catching up to me, so I quickly tried using a quick attack to get away "Oh no you don't" she said as she tried using a quick attack of her own to catch up to me, but I quickly turned just as she began to lunge towards me, which meant that she went straight on to tag Devin instead, who was caught by surprise, and turned to see Amara on the ground, childishly grinning as she then released her grip in his tail.**

**I then saw that Devin completely vanished. I stopped and looked at Ivy, then Cora, who both looked as confused as I did. Suddenly Devin appeared right behind Cora, and when she saw she squeaked in surprise and tried to outrun him, but couldn't because Devin was just too fast. He then vanished again and reappeared several metres away from where he originally stood. "What was that?" I asked in amazement.**

**Devin approached me, smiling coolly "I used the move faint attack to disappear and then reappear wherever I wanted. It's one of the handy things of being an Umbreon" he smiled proudly "I think that the game should be over now" he announced "We are all to tired, and it's beginning to get dark, so let's head back over to Demyx and the others. I'm sure we can have a good time over there too" he reassured us. We reluctantly agreed to go back.**

**When we got back to Demyx and Amara's house, we saw the entire group sitting around a pile of sticks. They all turned to Amara "Would you be so kind as to light the fire?" Kudzu sweetly asked. Amara nodded and released a small flame to ignite the wood, and burn it. The flame danced through the air towards the sticks, and the instant that the two made contact, the sticks went ablaze, and soon there was a roaring fire; the sparks were jumping and flickering as the last glimmer of sunlight faded.**

**We sat round the fire, admiring it until Cora began to whine "What are we going to do now? I'm bored just sitting here" soon all three of us were whining.**

**Demyx smiled and nodded towards the others "Perhaps you would like to hear our stories, of how we evolved?" He leaned in expectantly and we all nodded, but we didn't really know a lot about evolution yet, or I didn't anyway. Cora and Ivy were wagging their tails in excitement for some reason I didn't know.**

"**I want to know how you evolved first" Ivy demanded to Avo, and he silently agreed and prepared to speak. "I want you to start from the beginning!" she demanded again.**

**Avo stood up, and made sure that everyone was looking to him "When I was an Eevee, I had always been amazed by my father's skill as a Flareon, and I always thought I would become one also. However, when I saw that nearly every Eevee of my generation wanted to be a flareon I became unsure, because I had never been very well known amongst the clan at the time. I asked my father what he thought I should be"**

**I noticed that Ivy and Cora were listening intently just like I was; my mouth was wide open in anticipation for the next event. "I don't mind what you are. As long as you are happy with yourself" Avo mimicked what his father's voice would have been like. "I still didn't know what to do, so I ran away 'If my dad didn't know what to do, then how could I know?' I always asked myself this. After a while of walking I arrived at what is now the practice fields, but back then they were know as the 'Amp field', and this was where most of the Jolteon were. I walked through and spotted a Jolteon who seemed friendly enough, so I talked to this Jolteon about my problem, and she told me that it would all depend on what I thought I would be best suited too. After thinking about what she had said, I decided to become a Jolteon." He looked proudly on at everyone.**

"**Wait. How could you evolve without a thunderstone?" I asked, gaining strange looks from all but Kudzu. Avo looked a little bit shocked, and Ivy and Cora were giggling slightly to each other. I felt embarrassed, and I was blushing through my fur; Kudzu approached me and held me close to her, and looked down at me.**

"**Thunderstones are only used on trained pokemon, because the thing that holds them makes the pokemon unable to evolve without the help of the stone. Avo evolved through training with electric types and using their unique methods in battle is what helped him become a Jolteon. In fact the 'Amp field' was and is the only place Eevee can evolve into Jolteon here, because the electrical energy there is enough to start evolution, but that energy is only present after the lessons, so there is no risk of an entire class of Eevee evolving into Jolteon. And that wouldn't happen anyway, because most of the classes don't have private lesson for specific types until they are in class four." She explained, and suddenly I realized why I thought that; 'I'm a human! Was a human! Why would I know anything different? I couldn't.' I remembered the entire trauma I had been through, and I was showing a pained, scared look on my face. I was looking at Kudzu who now looked worried "What's wrong?" she asked "You look terrified" she exclaimed, but I was frozen with the recovered knowledge inside my head. **

**Soon I realized how much I had scared everyone, so I snapped out of my frozen state "It's okay, I just remembered my first day a- the first day I was saved by Kudzu" I corrected my lie to the others, but then I remembered that we were in the presence of Luctis, and if she wanted to know, she would find out.**

**Kudzu held me even closer now "Why would you remember that? It's in the past, and you're fine now. Please don't do this again, I thought you became ill." She looked at me with her eyes locking in a gaze with mine, but it wasn't an intimidating gaze; instead it was a caring gaze. And we quickly forgave each other when we nuzzled again. Cora and Ivy now joined me in Kudzu's embrace, we sat just in front of her tail, and our own curled round to our paws, swishing slightly. Although, all I could think about was trying to piece together what I might remember of my humanity. I got so caught up that I missed Demyx, Kudzu, Amara, Devin, and Luctis' story of how they evolved, and soon I gave up, thinking I was just chasing some ridiculous idea that I could be human. **

**Taphyn now stood up, and I noticed that Cora and Ivy had now curled up and gone to sleep, and had got even closer to me for warmth and comfort. "I had always wanted to be a glaceon. I always knew I was cool enough" he joked, making most of us chuckle "So I always, and I mean always trained on the glaciers, because it's near the ice rock that you all know that is what we need to evolve into Glaceon, regardless of being trained or not. Eventually I had trained there enough that one day I felt the energy building up in me at such a great rate that I asked my father to battle me, and he was a Vaporeon like Demyx and he supported my desire to be a Glaceon. We battled and when I finished my first attack, I felt the energy almost seep out of my body, and run across it, changing it, and turning me into the Glaceon that you see today. It was a dream come true when I evolved, although the first couple of days hurt a little bit because having your limbs stretched in that short space of time will leave your legs aching, but after that, there was only sheer bliss and joy. I couldn't have been happier" he exclaimed, staring off into his own memories of how great the experience had obviously been for him. I was amazed at his description of his evolution, it sounded like it was an intense burst of energy that ended almost as quickly as it had begun. Soon I was drowsy again, so I took the same position as Cora and Ivy, and curled up to go to sleep. All I heard were whispers from the others about how 'sweet' we looked together, and it didn't help when I yawned.**

**I soon felt myself being lifted up by Kudzu and she then began walking away, whilst I was still awake, but my eyes wouldn't dare open, just in case I regained massive amounts of energy and then couldn't get to sleep, so I remained in my half awake daze with my eyes closed. I could only feel myself float through the air as Kudzu carefully carried me back to our home. I knew that we had got home when kudzu placed me down on our bed, and she then proceeded to wrap around me defensively as she always had done. She the nuzzled me to say good night, which caused me to subconsciously nuzzle back until we both stopped, and made ourselves comfortable until we both drifted into a peaceful sleep.**

**I found myself waking up in my home, and I went outside to find Kudzu; she was sitting just outside "Hello Chima" she smiled gently "Today is the day then, or today is the predicted day for you at least. Are you excited?" I didn't know what she was talking about, but my body responded differently to my mind, so I nodded and walked away to get some berries. When I returned Kudzu was ready and waiting for me to go with her. "Let's go, I'll take you there. I'm almost as excited as you. Just think; by the day's end you will be a big, strong…" Kudzu said the last word, but for some reason I didn't hear what she said. I became suspicious and then tried to think what was going on. Why couldn't I hear Kudzu say the last word? I began too panic, but Kudzu didn't react; instead she carried on talking about whatever I couldn't hear. I was then shouting as loud as I could, but still no reaction came from Kudzu, almost as if she couldn't hear it. I decided to get her attention so I tackled her, but when I landed the hit, I went straight through her legs. She carried on walking. However, when I got up, she turned her head and looked round to me with an evil grin plastered on her face.**

**She slowly approached me "Unfortunately, you won't be able to today" her voice sounded different, sinister and raspy. Her tone scared me to the point where I was now frozen with fear. I sat, my ears flat back against my head, and I was quivering behind my tail. "What's wrong?" she teased menacingly as she circled round me. "How about we forget all about this" she mocked, and when I looked up at her, she was forming what looked like an energy ball, but it had darker energy coursing through it as well as the green energy.**

**Kudzu was about to fire, when suddenly she disappeared from my view "Chima, thank goodness I found you in time" shouted a voice. I looked round and saw nothing, but when I looked again I saw that Luctis was there, fighting off Kudzu, who for the moment had been knocked out cold from the psychic attack. "This will not be good news for you I'm afraid Chima" Luctis warned "This is not reality; this is a nightmare that has been influenced by a Haunter that managed to sneak into the clan. He has been terrorizing young Eevee for several nights, but it seems as if he's got to you now." She explained**

**I looked at the motionless Kudzu "Wh-What can I do?" I desperately asked Luctis "I don't wanna be in this nightmare. How did you get into my nightmare?" I sheepishly asked.**

"**I am here because I sensed the trouble that was happening and used the move dream eater to enter your dream, but do not fear, I am only here to fight of the Haunter who is also trying to use dream eater, but for a far worse desire than I". She looked at me with concern, and then sent another psychic blast at the still motionless Kudzu to make sure that she would stay down. "I expect the only way for you to escape this nightmare is through finishing this dream the only way you can." She explained, and immediately I knew what she meant; my ears went even flatter in fear "I know that the prospect is terrible, but trust me, the longer you fight it, the more painful it will be, so trust me when I say you must do this" she looked at me, and spoke with every word being as serious as the next. We then both looked to see the evil Kudzu rising slowly. "I must go" she said as she started to vanish "You know what to do, just be brave. You can do it!" she cheered as best she could before disappearing completely, leaving me with this dark, twisted, evil Kudzu who bared only minimal resemblance to its kinder counterpart who I had got to know so well. **

**She bared he teeth at me, and began forming the same dark energy ball as before. This time, the ball was released and it hit me with such a force that I was sent hurtling into a tree, where I crashed and fell to the ground. I could already feel that my back and legs had been practically shattered with that one hit. I lay there writhing in pain, gritting my teeth, but in far too much pain to cry or even yelp. I watched Kudzu approach, her eyes now a deep, unreadable black; she smiled at me gruesomely and then opened her mouth building up a hyper beam. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact. The beam was released and I was hit, I felt the force of it, and quickly jolted up. I was now awakened from my dream. That hyper beam had ended my life in the dream, but that meant that I woke up to the real world, and I sighed with relief.**

**I looked outside and saw that it was still dark, although light was starting to overturn the night's shift. I noticed that I was still breathing heavily, and that my fur had become messy and scruffy. I sat down where I was standing and began to groom myself the best I could, but I was no where near as good as Kudzu, so I gave up and decided that I should Kudzu up because I was still terrified, and every time I looked outside I would always picture the 'shadow' Kudzu that had been my cause for alarm in the dream. I nuzzled at Kudzu's face, but nothing happened until I heard that she was purring as well. She yawned "Good morning Chima" her eyes then jolted open "This looks far too early. Why are we up at this time?" she looked at me agitatedly. **

"**I had a nightmare, and now I'm scared" I whimpered. She immediately began rubbing up against me to comfort me and to stop me from sobbing uncontrollably, and it worked, soon I was lying right up against Kudzu who was now grooming me properly, and soon my fur was as good as new. I soon realised that Kudzu was now cuddling me as we both lay down, which felt nice because I knew that Kudzu would protect me. I was beginning to go back to sleep when just as I was closing my eyes I noticed something hovering above us. I screamed loudly, startling Kudzu.**

"**What's wrong now?" she shouted, but then she looked up at where I was looking and saw none other than the Haunter who had invaded my dream. Kudzu placed herself directly over me so that it could not get to me. "What do you want?" she demanded for the intruder to answer.**

**I peeked out from the side of Kudzu to see it. It was very scary to look at. It didn't even have proper teeth, just the sharp edges at the end of its lips served as its teeth. I caught sight of me and quickly glared at me. "Me? Well I was just enjoying your kit's dream, very nice dream too. We had a great time didn't we young one" it teased. Its voice was squeaky and arrogant, which was still scary enough for me to not reply.**

**Kudzu stepped forward one pace "You leave Chima alone. He doesn't need you scaring him. Just go away from our clan, we have done nothing to you so go. Or else." She warned angrily.**

**The Haunter just laughed manically "You think you could take me on do you dear? I've had harder fights from Machop, and they can't even hit me. I'll stay here as long as I like thank you" he said, pleased with himself. However, he quickly made the first wrong move.**

**Kudzu then launched an energy ball at the Haunter, who easily dodged it and stuck his tongue out at Kudzu and licked her. Kudzu suddenly froze, but she was still jittering. Kudzu had just been paralyzed by the Haunter "Y-you w-won't get aw-w-way with thi-i-is" she stuttered.**

**The Haunter then floated down to me and smiled "your turn" and he lunged at me with his tongue. Thankfully, I reacted quickly enough to dash out of reach. I stood facing the Haunter as he slowly floated towards me, then an idea struck me. I quickly concentrated all of my energy to my tail, telling myself that it was the toughest thing in the world. Just as the Haunter was within distance to grab me, I turned and swung my tail, slamming it into the face of my foe knocking him down.**

**I looked at my opponent down on the floor, not even moving in pain "It seems that he could only talk the talk, but when it comes to actually battling this guy was pathetic." Said a voice; I looked around to see Luctis and Amara arriving now. Luctis's eyes went a bright blue and the same light started appearing around the Haunter's body. Luctis then lifted the Haunter and walked away with it. "Luctis is going to wipe its memory, and teleport it out of the clan, so it won't be anymore trouble." She turned to Kudzu, who was still standing paralyzed on the spot "Chima fetch a cheri berry would you. I know that Kudzu always has at least one in case of an emergency." I nodded and quickly retrieved a cheri berry, which Amara then pushed on to Kudzu's mouth with great difficulty.**

**Kudzu quickly regained mobility and rushed over to me to see if I was okay "Chima I was so worried. You're not hurt are you?" I shook my head and her expression quickly changed to a relieved one "Good. I don't ever want you to get hurt" she said before licking me on the top of my head and on my ears. I shook a little to try and get out of it, but soon I gave in to how nice it actually felt.**

**Amara chuckled "I'll stay with you until I have to go to work. We can keep each other in good company right. Kudzu, you need to get ready for the next few days if we're going to go in the woods again okay?" she asked Kudzu, who nodded, but remained still. **

**Amara sat down, waiting to start a conversation with Kudzu to pass the time "Why don't you go back to sleep Chima, you can lay up against Amara if you want, she will feel very warm." I did as I was told and was not disappointed as I quickly fell asleep on a warm body of fur.**

**Kudzu's POV **

**I looked across at Amara who was watching Chima sleep "Amara" I said and she turned her head to face me "What am I going to do? I need someone to look after Chima for the few days that we're out." I said blandly, but inside I didn't want to leave Chima, especially after what had happened.**

**Amara smiled at me "I'm sure that someone will be able to help you out. You know so many that would help you." I shook my head, and I thought of some of the possibilities, but I always found a reason not to choose them 'Taphyn can't because he will be doing his duties, and I'm not sure that his home is exactly suitable for Chima. Luctis for the same reasons as Taphyn, and that goes for all guild members.' I was kept away from my thoughts when both Amara and I looked to Chima who was whimpering slightly "Is he always like this?" Amara asked and I just nodded. "Must be cute to watch him go to sleep every night though" she giggled**

**I smiled back at Amara "Well, I suppose that's true, he is very sweet when he's asleep, but my goodness he can be tough work when he's awake; sometimes he'll be completely fine, then he could be crying the next minute, which means I have to calm him down. And sometimes he can seem quite distressed and deep in thought; no doubt he acts strange sometimes, but he's still my son all the same, and I wouldn't have him any differently". Amara suddenly looked at me with an excited face. "What are you looking at me like that for?" I quizzed.**

"**I know who can look after Chima. I can't believe we didn't think of this before. Ask Vesper if he can stay with her and her family for a few days until you get back. If not Vesper, then I am almost certain Marina will be able to." She beamed, feeling proud of her quick thinking. **

**I hesitated a little bit "I don't know" I said**

"**She has had kits of her own, and she has Cora and Nik at the moment. She has all the experience, you know that he'll be safe with her" Amara argued, raising her voice. I quickly shushed her.**

"**Keep your voice down, we don't want to wake him up." I whispered "What are we going to do?" I asked.**

**Amara looked at me "What do you mean our duty tomorrow?" I nodded "I think it's just the standard we look round and see if there is anything dangerous close by, and when we've checked the whole area, we can come back, or explore a little bit further. Nothing special." she stared out of my home, and looked thoughtfully towards the sky "I hope we find something exciting" she said gleefully. I simply shrugged.**

**I wasn't in the mood for exploring this time. "I'm not sure I could handle anymore excitement" I retorted sarcastically to Amara who frowned. "What do you expect me to say? Look what happened last time. Do we really want that again?" I raised my voice this time.**

**Amara look puzzled "Are you saying that you find Chima difficult to deal with?" my heart sank as I realized what I had said.**

"**I didn't mean that. I love him, I really do! What I meant was how scary and difficult it was, constantly looking after him whilst he was trying to recover and learn to walk. I didn't know when anything was going to attack him, and I didn't know if he would survive an attack. Sure, exploring is fun, but if you were in my situation, it is far more tense than fun." I explained as fully as I could how hard it had been to look after Chima back when I found him. Amara understood, and nodded in response, once again gazing out into the sky.**

**Amara and I carried on talking until we heard Chima beginning to wake up. I knew that the best thing to do was give him to Vesper for the next few days because I had to get ready today, and this would be nothing easy without a kit at my toes the whole time, so I quickly helped Chima wake up faster, which seemed a little bit cruel, but it needed to be done. Amara meanwhile had left without saying goodbye; I guessed that she had also left to prepare for tomorrow. "Chima, you are going to be staying with either Vesper or Marina for the next few days" I explained, but Chima wasn't looking happy about the proposition, he looked hurt.**

"**Why are you leaving me?" he moaned. All I could do was feel bad about having to go to work and leave him behind for a few days. "You are coming back aren't you?" he naively asked.**

**I looked down at him "Of course I'm coming back. I would never leave you" I exclaimed. After not much longer, we reached Vesper's house, and saw Vesper standing outside, watching us approach.**

**As we got closer, I could see that Vesper was smiling, and she was looking at Chima; her red eyes not presenting a sense of fear, but a look of elegance and beauty that matched the Umbreon's slick black fur that shined with the morning sun she looked up at me "I know why you're here. Amara told me everything before leaving to get ready and I presume that's why you're here now?" she questioned, and I nodded, gesturing for Chima to walk over to Vesper, but he almost clung to my leg, so I whispered to him that I loved him, so after that he cautiously left my side and sat down beside Vesper, still looking worried and slightly upset.**

**I turned and began walking away when I heard "Goodbye mummy" shouted to me. I turned again and replied with my own goodbye, and then I carried on my way to get ready. Every step I took was getting easier now, I had successfully given Chima to Vesper, and that was the hard part over. I kept in my mind that I was going to get him back when I return. So I went to get ready for my next 'journey'.**

**I spent the whole day preparing, and finally, I was able to go to sleep. However, as I tried, I couldn't help but feel empty. It had always felt comfortable wrapping myself around Chima, I could feel him breath as he slept, I could watch him sleep, but tonight I only had myself, I felt cold and lonely without Chima being there with me. It didn't feel right, but less than a moon cycle ago I was always sleeping by myself, and I was quite content too, but now I felt empty and lost. It would be hard for me to be able to sleep tonight.**

**Chima's POV**

**I was getting ready to sleep; today had been strange, I had been looked after by Vesper, who was completely different to Kudzu, although not in a bad way. After playing some games with Cora and Nik, I had managed to trip and graze my right forepaw. Kudzu would have immediately rushed over to me and try to heal it as quick as she could. Vesper on the other hand, she treated me like one of her own, so she told me "If you ignore the pain, then soon enough you won't feel it. However, if you feel like it is too much, then tell me and I can help you out" her words sincere and trustworthy.**

**When we were having our food, she gave Cora and Nik more food than me. I whined slightly to show my confusion "Those two are bigger than you, and therefore they need more food than you, and trust me, that's enough for someone your size, so eat up" she said, her voice not even showing slight irritation at my whines. When we finished, I noticed that I was once again, the messy child, because Cora and Nik were still impeccably clean. "Amara and Kudzu weren't lying when they said you were mucky" she sighed, and then much to my embarrassment, she began to clean me in front of Cora and Nik who were smiling at me deviously. I stuck my tongue out at them, which they returned by snickering at my displeasure. When she was finished, Vesper then picked me up and placed me where I would be sleeping for the next few nights, which happened to also be where Cora and Nik slept. "If you're going to be in this family for a few days, then expect to be treated like one of the family" she winked, making me nervous. What exactly was being 'treated' like one of the family? Cora and Nik rushed over to either side of me, sitting and both were looking down at me.**

**Cora smiled innocently "This means that you're our little brother. I expect you to be nice to me, your BIG sister. I've always wanted a baby brother, and now I've got one for a few days." She beamed. She was right. I was still a baby, and I was smaller than her, so I didn't argue, but I did frown a little at her comment.**

**Nik then caught my attention "Yeah, she's right, you're now our little brother, which means that we will look out for you if you're ever in trouble" he smiled. I felt happy that they were being so nice to me, even if they were a bit up front about it. They tucked up next to me as we all curled up in the same position; tails curled round our bodies to sit in front of our noses. **

**Cora sat up and looked at me as I closed my eyes and feigned sleeping to see if it would make me fall asleep any quicker, but instead I heard Cora talk to Nik "I know that he's not really that much younger than us, but even I can say that he is cute when he sleeps, just like mum said he was"**

"**Yeah, I suppose you're right" said Nik, who was trying to show that he wasn't interested, but Cora completely ignored the signs.**

"**I wonder what he wants to evolve into." Cora stated, the topic now sparking interest in Nik.**

"**I dunno, but I wanna be a….. a Jolteon" he yipped**

**Cora was silent for a moment, but replied "I wanna be something completely new" she said, her tone full of dream "But if that doesn't happen, I'm gonna be an Umbreon like mum".**

**Nik snorted at his sister's response "You can't be something different. It's impossible." He quickly covered up his remark to not offend Cora "but being an Umbreon sounds cool".**

**Cora shrugged off Nik's words and turned her attention back to me "I think I can see him being a Glaceon when he's older."**

**Once again, Nik laughed "No, not a Glaceon. He will be a Flareon"**

"**You two go to sleep! Mum will be back soon" shouted an angry voice "Who is this?" the voice asked, obviously talking about me.**

**Cora yipped "This is our friend Chima, and for the next few days he is our little brother, because miss Kudzu is working with miss Amara, your teacher." I heard the footsteps of their sibling approach me slowly, and bring their face down to get a close look at me. I could tell from the heat radiating from its body that their sibling was a Flareon, and judging by its voice, it was a male.**

"**You two still need to go to sleep, but Nik, I'm sorry, I think I'm gonna agree with Cora on this one, he looks like he's more likely to evolve into a Glaceon, but I personally would say that he is most likely to be a Vaporeon. Anyway, go to sleep now." He softly demanded. And the two curled up to me, and soon all three of us were leaning against each other, and falling to sleep. Waiting for what the next day had in store for us.**

**A/N:** That was Chapter 11. You may remember that I said about my exam month, I was wrong it starts on the 13th of May and ends on the 19th June. However, my exams seem to be well spaced out and very manageable, so things may be a little slower for a bit, but they will continue. Okay, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I will update when I can. Feel free to review (even though waiting to read them scares me XD p.s. I'm fine once I'm reading them though). See you next time, bye :D


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** This is it, I have officially broken the curse of "11th chapter-ightis" :P. I would also like to finally say thanks to whoever has reviewed my story, I've tried my best to make the improvements where needed and I will carry on doing so. I do not own Pokemon, but I do own the characters in the story.

**Chapter 12**

**Kudzu's POV**

**I woke up at the same time I always do, but this time, I felt empty, and when I looked at the empty space on my bed I sighed, but before I could even feel sad again "Hey! Come on. We wanna get a nice and early start; the quicker this gets done is the quicker we can get back" shouted Amara as cheerfully as ever.**

**I turned to look at her "Not all of this can be as peppy as you in the morning" I lied, trying to show displeasure of her arrival, but she knew that I was just joking.**

"**Say, that's funny coming from someone who can make their food just by absorbing the sun's rays" she joked and we laughed in unison. I really was thankful that Amara was always as happy as that. "So, are you ready?" she asked, changing her tone to a serious, but calm one. I nodded, and then I walked out of my home. My tail was swishing nervously; this was the first time I had left the clan since I had found Chima. It was also going to have been the first time I will have left Chima for more than a day since I found him. Amara quickly noticed and began to comfort me "He'll be fine, he's in good care." I looked at her upset "we couldn't have taken him with us" she stated "If we did, this whole thing would take so much longer" she continued.**

**I shot Amara a sharp look "Are you saying that he's hopeless?" Amara just sighed and shook her head, and then carried on walking; we walked through the practice fields where we were welcomed by the various teachers as we passed through. Soon we reached the exit of our safe haven. "You first" Amara giggled.**

**I then began crossing through the various layers of the cavern that concealed our clan from the rest of the world. I knew my way through the cave that the pitch darkness was no obstacle to me or Amara. We saw a beam of light shine through the darkness, and we followed it to bring us to the mouth of the cave; we were now outside of official clan territory, and in the world where anything could be waiting for us.**

**I cautiously took the first step out of the cave and checked to see if there was any other being around. This was possibly the most important part of this job, because if we were spotted by anyone, then our clan's secrecy could be broken; thankfully this time there was no one watching, so Amara and I dashed away to the closest large tree that we could find, she grinned at me when we stopped "Just like old times" and as we headed down our usual route she spoke up "Maybe we could deviate a little bit from where we usually go, and then you can show me where you found Chima" she suggested.**

**I shook my head, but reluctantly said "Okay, but I want you to know that I didn't mean to go along there, it was only because I picked up on Chima's scent, so if we're not exactly there then don't be too disappointed." Amara shivered in excitement "Why so excited?" I asked.**

**Amara giggled again "It just makes me excited when things like this happen. I have a feeling that this is going to be a good few days, with lots of excitement and even some da-" I interrupted her as quickly as I could.**

"**Do not say that word, there will be no such risk okay" I snapped, I couldn't even think of danger as a possibility, I just wanted to get this job done as swiftly as possible. "Now" I started "I think it was this way" I guided Amara over to where I thought I had found Chima. We both stepped out onto the small clearing and I could very faintly pick up his scent, but it was virtually gone by now.**

**Amara and I looked up and down the path that led into and out of the clearing "Lets start by looking up there" she yelled, causing a few Murkrow to fly from the trees, but she couldn't care less because she as too excited at the prospect of exploring somewhere unknown to her. She zipped in the direction opposite the river that I had saved Chima, so I quickly paced behind her. However, we came to a stop much quicker than I expected, I walked around to see what Amara had stopped for and when I saw I was shocked and confused. "What are these doing here?" Amara asked.**

**I didn't know what to make of it; right in front of us were the items that humans placed upon themselves to keep them from being cold, because of their lack of fur. However, this human had obviously decided that they didn't want to wear any of it. "I'd hate to think of that human right now" I grimaced, but then a thought struck my head "This forest will be enough to change the human's mind, they will suffer" I inspected the items closer and found that on of them had a Meowth and a Wailord, but there were unreadable scribble written on the fabric. "Humans are strange, they seem to idolise Pokemon, but then they choose to capture us? I don't understand the logic. Surely if they idolise us then they would leave us be." I voiced my thoughts.**

**Amara faced me, still giggling uncontrollably "I don't know about you, but I find the thought of a human running through the forest funny, just imagine how out of place it will look" she cackled. I smirked at her, and then I couldn't resist any further, so I joined in her relentless fits of laughter.**

**However, our laughing had attracted attention, and soon we were swarmed by many angry looking Pokemon; there were some Beedrill, Zigzagoon, Pidgey and many more, but the most daunting to see was a Nidoking and a Nidoqueen. The two of them towered over us, and the other Pokemon circled us angrily. Amara chuckled nervously "So uh, what brings you here?" she said, trying to lighten the mood, but I knew that there was only one way out of this.**

**The Nidoking looked over at me and growled deeply "Why have you entered my territory, and disturbed my civilian's peace? There is no excuse for this, you must be punished. Perhaps you will be lucky enough to die in battle than have us leave you for the Mightyena to take you at night" I grimaced and closed my eyes, whilst Amara shifted next to me in a battle ready stance "Prepare to face our fury" shouted the Nidoking, then I assumed the same position as Amara, and got ready.**

**Cora's POV**

**I woke up at the same time as mum and moved towards her "Good morning my little dewdrop" she said before we both turned our attention to the two boys who were still sleeping "Would you be a dear and wake those two up?" mum asked, so I decided to sneak up on Nik and frighten him out of his sleep. **

**I slowly crept towards Nik, smiling mischievously, and then I pounced and yipped loudly to wake him up. He was too slow to get out of the way, so I landed on him, pinning him down whilst he tried to process the shock "What was that for?" he whined, I snickered and released him from my grip. He glared at me and sulkily made his way over to mum, who then began to comfort Nik as he continued to wallow in self pity. My yip had obviously woken Chima up, because before I knew it, I got tackled to the ground and was in the same position that I held Nik in. I opened my eyes to see Chima grinning wildly "Go Chima!" shouted Nik to cover up his desire for revenge. I pushed Chima off lightly, and pulled up close to him.**

"**Very good, but next time you'd better watch out" I warned light heartedly. Mum told us to get ready because she was taking us all for a walk today. I always loved her walks, they lasted a whole day, and we always got to watch the sun set before we went back home. The only downside was that we would almost definitely be tired and unable to stay awake once we got home; the last time went on a walk, both me and Nik fell asleep, so mum had to carry both of us; this happened almost every walk we went on, so I didn't know if Chima would be able to cope.**

**Mum stood at the exit of our home and waited for us "Let's get going" she chirped as we all sat by her. She began to walk and we followed close behind "I would like for Chima to stick close to me" she stated, and soon he was walking right by her legs taking three strides for every one that mum did; he was always either looking up at mum or looking forwards to make sure that he didn't trip. **

**We had been walking for a while now; the sun was high in the sky, signalling that it was already afternoon "anyone up for a stop by the lake?" mum asked just as we appeared in front of the lake, and we couldn't resist, immediately all three of us breaking into a reckless sprint as we charged for the water, but just as I was about to jump I stopped and grimaced as I remembered what happened when Nik fell into the water during one of our games. **

"**What's wrong sis?" Nik asked as he plunged beneath the water and resurfaced with his fur drenched, obviously he was less affected than I was. I stood there frozen, but I quickly thought of a cover up, and decided that I would sunbathe instead. I looked to Chima, who obviously had the same idea because he was already lying down, taking in the sun's heat.**

**I started to lay down "I'm not feeling like going in today" I shrugged to Nik who now looked hilarious as he stepped out of the lake and shook his fur to dry himself off. I closed my eyes and felt the warmth of the sun spreading across my body, I purred contently, soon the heat increased , but I could no longer feel the sun beating down on me. I turned and looked up to see an unknown Flareon who was smiling at me excitedly.**

**The flareon spoke "Guess who" he demanded. I was lost for words; I didn't know who this was.**

**I looked confused at him "Um, I dunno, Uncle Rauridh? Miss Amara's brother?" I guessed. The Flareon shook his head proudly; I was getting a little bit creeped out by this Flareon.**

"**It's me" the flareon cheered "Sae; look, I evolved!" My eyes opened wide in shock and surprise. I couldn't believe it, Sae had evolved, and looked stronger, his tail was swishing elegantly as he sat and watched me gawking at his new appearance. His once brown fur was now a vibrant, shiny orange coat, whilst his yellow mane and tail shimmered with the sunlight.**

"**Is that who I think it is?" shouted mum, "Well, you look like a dashing young Flareon now. Are you entering the tournament now that you're even stronger?" she smiled, and Sae nodded excitedly.**

**He turned round quickly "I need to go now, I still need to show others" and then he ran off as quickly as he appeared. I turned to look at Nik and Chima; both were still in a daze, but seemed to get a grasp of what just occurred. However, it seemed that Chima's younger, smaller body was taking its toll even after half a day of continuous walking, and he was quickly falling asleep, his eyes were trying to fight the urge to close, but all resistance was hopeless as he slowly closed his eyes and placed his head on the ground, breathing softly. Mum made no attempt to wake him, instead she gently picked him up, and silently gestured for Nik and I to follow her, our full day walk had been significantly reduced.**

**When we reached our house, Nik and I decided to play a game of tag, but soon we got bored because tag is nowhere near as fun when there's only two playing. We sat and looked out into the forest together and began to talk "Maybe Shar was wrong" I started, Nik looked at me puzzled " he said that Chima is probably going to be a vaporeon remember, but Chima didn't look like he wanted to go into the water".**

**Nik smiled slightly "Yeah, but when is Shar ever right. Remember when he was saying how he could beat mum in a battle, but she wiped the floor with him… that was funny" he said reflectively "You know what? I'm tired, I think I'm gonna go lie down next to Chima and go to sleep. Do you think Chima knows that Cutter and Larxene entered him in the tournament?" Nik asked me curiously. I shrugged, I didn't know any more than Nik did, but we knew that Chima was going to be in the tournament. "Do you think we ought to tell him, so that he can get ready? It starts the day after Miss Kudzu gets back from her journey." Nik stated to the both of us whilst we turned round and headed for our home and our bed next to Chima. As soon as we got inside mum greeted us and made sure that we got comfortable before we went to sleep, and we fell asleep peacefully.**

**Vesper's POV**

**I'm surprised that the children even managed that long on our walk, I was fairly tired by the time we stopped off at the lake, and when Chima fell asleep it felt like a blessing, because I now had an excuse to return home. I needed to wear them out today, because tomorrow I was going to let them watch the older ones practice for the tournament; I knew that Shar was competing and I also knew that Sae was. However, when Larxene told me that Chima had been entered, I didn't know how to react. I wasn't sure if Chima was actually ready, but there had to be a reason why Chima was moved up to the third group. **

**I sat at the edge of our home, staring at the three kits sleeping whilst feeling the sun beat down on my black fur, giving it a gleam in the sunlight. It was days like this that I remembered what it was like being a kit; I still remember when we got two new pupils in our class. Their names still stuck in my mind, because now they are so influential on life here in the clan. The two were called Amara and Kudzu, and they were already the standout students in our class, and were moved up within the day. And within a whole season they had evolved, and again with another season they became members of the guild respectively, whilst in that same season, I evolved into an Umbreon. I always looked up to those two, but in the current situation; it was me who was being looked up to by Kudzu and Amara. They admired my ability to look after children, and they have now become a larger part of my life. Even when Shar evolved and went into Amara's class we didn't talk much. However, since Chima entered, all of our lives had become intertwined.**

**I continued to watch them sleep, all three of them were adorable, although most notably was Chima because he was clearly smaller than the other two. However, it was funny to watch Nik and Cora toss and turn around him, and Nik was even talking in his sleep "No….No stop, I want to be a jolteon, not….." he mumbled, unaware of how silly it looked.**

**I shifted my gaze away from them and looked outside to see that there was a glaceon approaching the house confidently, it was Taphyn, and from the looks of things he was happy about something. He stood in front of me "You will never guess what. I was just minding my own business and then suddenly this Jolteon who I have no idea is by the way, but anyway, this Jolteon basically told me that I was destined for great things if I manage to look after what is important. I assume that when she said something important she meant the next generation, but there's only a few I know, which means that I have to look after the kits Chima, Cora, Ivy, Nik" I stopped him mid sentence; half out of confusion and half out of fear that he was going to run out of breath.**

"**I don't think that means that exactly, I think there's a deeper meaning in there somewhere. I just don't know what it could be. If I were you I wouldn't jump to the conclusion so quickly" Taphyn blushed at my reaction.**

**He perked his ears up, and then lowered them again "I suppose you're right" he chuckled "Do you know where Kudzu is?" he asked, I looked at him shocked "What?" he said absentmindedly.**

**I slowly uttered "Don't you know that Kudzu and Amara have gone out to the forest beyond our clan's? I thought you would have been told" Taphyn stared blankly at me.**

**He shook his head and began to smile a bit "I think I was told, but I probably zoned out because I'll be honest; not all guild members are as fun as me" he gloated jokingly. **

**I rolled my eyes "I'm looking after Chima at the moment, and you are more than welcome to help me look after him and the others" I suggested.**

"**Sure, I'd love to help out" he cheered, but soon stopped and frowned at me. I felt nervous; I'd never seen Taphyn look like this, but it didn't look like he was angry, just concerned "Are you feeling okay today Vesper? You look a little pale, and your yellow rings aren't as vibrant as they usually are." I turned to look at the rings on my back legs; they were glowing dimly, but not as bright as they usually were. I looked at Taphyn and now that I had noticed that I felt queasy, and within a quick space of time I had to lean against Taphyn for support.**

"**Not now. Why now?" I mumbled weakly as I shortly fainted and collapsed right next to Taphyn. **

**Amara's POV**

**We had been searching for a full day at this point, and we had covered good ground considering our earlier run in with the Nidoking's 'empire'. However, Kudzu and I quickly dealt with all of them. I used a blast burn and Kudzu used a hyper beam directly on the Nidoking, knocking it clean out; this was enough to deter the others from attacking, so we casually walked away from the scene, dragging the human clothes with us. **

**It was night time now, and Kudzu and I were getting ready to sleep. I had set alight the human clothes to create some fire as a source of warmth, which both of us greatly appreciated. If we searched at the same rate as today, then we would be done by the end of the day and we could return at dusk, far quicker than anyone expected. However, I suspected that Kudzu would want to explore some more.**

**I looked over at Kudzu, her eyes were sparkling with the reflection of the flames within them "I don't know why, but those clothes seemed familiar, even though I've never seen them before" she uttered. I had no idea what she meant so I just forgot about what she said. I placed myself closer to the fire and began to drift off into its inviting warmth.**

**However, I quickly sat up and began looking round quickly; I didn't know what was there, but I could tell that there was someone watching us "Kudzu" I whispered, gaining her attention until she also felt the presence around our area. We were silent, both of us scanning the area, but finding nothing. We backed up to each other to get a full view together, but to no avail; we could both sense this being's presence, but could not detect where it was.**

**Suddenly I heard the beating of wings and looked up to see something amazing; it was like I was looking at the master craft of a Smeargle's painting, but this was no painting. I was looking up to see the legendary Pokemon Moltres soaring over the forest, I quickly nudged Kudzu to make sure that she was able to witness this wonderful sight. It was said that if anyone were to see a legendary Pokemon, this was often a sign of good luck or a sign that good fortune had been bestowed upon those who witnessed it, and I assumed that the latter applied to Kudzu, which meant that I would hopefully be receiving the same kind of fortune. **

**As quickly as we had spotted Moltres, it had disappeared, but when we looked away from the sky we saw another surprise, an Ursaring was wandering through the woods, but did not look angry "Hello there" he said "I couldn't help but notice your fire, and I was getting worried that a wildfire had broken out." He then stopped and noticed what was actually fuelling the fire "Are those human clothes that you're burning?" I nodded, and he looked a bit worried "Do you know where the human is then?" **

**I shrugged at him "We don't know. I just thought it might be better than trying to find some firewood". The large Pokemon sat down, and began chewing on some berries that he had obviously plucked earlier "Sorry, can we help you?" I asked getting slightly agitated at this Pokemon invading mine and Kudzu's space, and staying here like he was welcome.**

"**No. why would you need to help me?" he replied nonchalantly, still munching on the berries. Kudzu and I exchanged irritated looks and then prepared to scare the Pokemon off. The Ursaring yawned loudly and lazily rubbed his belly. **

**I began to feign a smile "If you don't mind, we would like you to leave now. We've had a long day and need this rest, because tomorrow is going to be just as long." I explained a gently as I could. The bear then switched on and began to glare at me angrily.**

"**I don't think you have any right to get me away from this spot" he retorted "In fact, I believe that I have more of a right than you" he snorted confidently. **

**I returned with a confident grin and a nod for Kudzu "You really want to battle us?" I questioned and looked back at Kudzu quickly to see that she was in a battle ready position. However, when I looked back at the Ursaring he smiled happily at the request.**

**He then waved his left paw for about five seconds, but to my surprise there was no response. I was about to laugh when I then saw that an Aerodactyl had landed right next to the Ursaring. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, we do." He said smugly.**

**I stared in shock "H-how can you even be here?" I whimpered at the Aerodactyl; ever since I was a young Eevee, I had always been scared of Aerodactyl, even though I knew they were extinct, but now I was facing one and I was going to have to battle it.**

**The living fossil spoke "Simple, our old trainer found my fossil and was able to resurrect me. She was so kind to do that; pity she tasted nice as well" he said in a tone that made it unclear whether he was joking or not. I shuddered at the thought.**

**The two figures towered over us and I felt powerless, I was frozen by the gaze of the Aerodactyl. "Amara" I could faintly hear Kudzu trying to call to me "Amara watch out!" Kudzu shouted as my daze was suddenly snapped as I saw not one but two hyper beams narrowly miss me, I was shaken and startled so I began to run away. I turned my head to see Kudzu strike a leaf blade on both of our enemies, and then begin to dash after me.**

**Kudzu caught up to me and panted "I think I have blinded the fossil for the moment" she smiled, lifting my spirits a little, until I heard heavy wings beat in the otherwise silent air, I could tell that we were being caught up, so I bravely decided to stop, and saw that the Aerodactyl flew right past me, I sighed in relief until I felt myself being forced to the floor with great strength.**

**I was pressed down to the ground with immense pressure "A little afraid of him are we?" the Ursaring taunted, striking me with a focus punch.**

**I groaned painfully, but managed to stop any tears from forming "Why would I be scared of that, I bet it can't even beat a Seedot in a fight" I returned the taunt, making my oppressor growl furiously as he landed another blow on me, my vision was becoming blurry and I was losing consciousness. In a last attempt at survival I turned my head quickly and released the biggest flamethrower I could muster.**

**The flames began to dance on the Ursaring's fur, giving me the opportunity to stumble away and out of view from the raging inferno that stuck to him. I saw him slowly recover as the flames fizzled out and left his fur singed. I decided to release all I could with an overheat, which I hoped would finish the Ursaring off, so that we wouldn't be bothered by him for at least another few days, and by that time we would be back in the clan. **

**The Ursaring screeched in the sheer volume of pain that was being inflicted upon it, as I watched I saw its body give up, and he fell to the floor lifelessly, although watching closer I could see he was still breathing, and before I could watch anymore I left him there. Suddenly a thought struck me 'Where's Kudzu?!" I couldn't make out where to go, so I wandered in the direction I thought Kudzu had been chased.**

**I had been walking in various directions in hope of finding Kudzu, but not even a familiar sound had appeared to cheer me up. I wandered around clueless, the vibrant trees that I had seen during the day were now tall shadows looming over me, waiting to consume my life the moment I fall, and every noise that was appearing didn't sound friendly. I felt like it was hopeless now, so I decided to find a safer place to sleep for the night when suddenly "Um, hello?" called a voice which startled me initially, but seemed to be far less scary than everything else I heard, but I couldn't pinpoint where the voice had come from.**

**I circled continuously trying to work out the source of the voice, or was I just imagining things "I'm over here" the voice said quietly, this time I managed to trace where the voice was coming from and walked through a bush which looked like a black whole in the darkness of the night.**

**When I got to the other side I felt slightly colder, and when I looked around I could see a Glaceon lying down and watching me take in the surroundings, but this Glaceon didn't seem to be laughing at me; more like he was trying to work out what to say. "Thank you Glaceon" I said humbly, but it almost seemed dismissive of being called Glaceon "Sorry, I don't know your name, that's why I called you Glaceon" he then continued his unimpressed glare.**

"**Don't call me Glaceon!" he snapped. I didn't like his attitude.**

**I quickly snapped back "Well you didn't exactly tell me your name!"**

"**Well, I'm terribly sorry, but I'm not exactly used to any of this" he stated, which caused me to look at him puzzled, causing him to roll his eyes in annoyance "I used to be a human" he finished. I stopped in my thoughts, shocked at what I had just heard.**

**I looked at him a different angles "B-but how, you look like a normal Glaceon from every angle, heck, you even have the same coldness a Glaceon naturally gives off." I stopped and thought quickly "Wait a minute; this isn't some kind of joke is it. Very funny, who set you up to this? I bet it was Cutter" I laughed in desperation, but the Glaceon's serious expression remained, so I stopped and looked down at the ground "How is that even possible?" I repeated.**

**He moved next to me; his body pressing against mine to comfort me "It's just as confusing to me, I'll tell you what. You can call me Frost." He smiled slightly, but I was still trying to process that the Glaceon before me was actually once a human, I didn't know if I could trust him. I had so many conflicting thoughts that my face look disgusted in concentration "Fine, be like that then!" Frost yelled grumpily.**

**I immediately came to my senses "Sorry. I'm still trying to get my head round the idea, its not exactly everyday that you hear of a human turning into a pokemon, that's only been talked about in myths that are over exaggerated and clearly just fantasy stories." I defended.**

**Frost smiled weakly at me and looked me in the eyes "I promise that I'm not lying. However, it's not just that I've been turned into a pokemon, but I also…" he stopped, holding back his other secret. "I was… I am from a world without Pokemon, in my world you are nothing more than a game. I know this will sound farfetched, but you have to believe me!" he begged, his ears drooping without him realising. "Agh, come on, can't I at least become human again?" he cried out.**

**I decided to let his last comment slide by "I don't know how you've ended up in the situation that you're in, and I'm afraid I don't know how to get you back as a human. I'm not sure if I believe you. When did this happen to you?"**

"**About three hours ago" he stated.**

"**I think it's best if we get some rest, we need to-" I was interrupted by Kudzu entering the small area and rushing towards me.**

**Kudzu smiled brightly, completely missing the Glaceon next to me "It's so good to see you again. I thought that I had lost you after that Aerodactyl gave chase for me, although I managed to deal with him pretty quickly once I was facing him one on one." She stopped and observed my bruised and battered body "You look terrible, how on earth did you manage to stay conscious?" finally she looked across to see Frost "And who might you be?" she inquired.**

**Frost looked at her the same way he initially looked at me "My name is Frost. You wouldn't believe my story if I told you though" he sulked.**

**Kudzu decided to rise to the challenge "Try me" she demanded playfully. Frost then proceeded to explain his situation, and as expected, Kudzu was shocked by his story. She looked at him for a moment and then said "You poor thing. No one should have to go through as much as you have. I think it would be best if you stuck with us from now on okay?" she asked attentively.**

**Frost winced a little at the thought "I dunno, I don't think that would be a good idea, I would just hold you up" he moped "But if you insist, then who am I to deny your hospitality?" he perked up a little bit.**

**Kudzu smiled and swished her tail across his body "I think it would be a good idea if we actually got some sleep now. Especially after what we've been through; all three of us" Frost and I nodded in unison and all three of us sat down to get ready to sleep under the stars, much later than Kudzu and I had wanted to.**

**Taphyn's POV**

**The whole day had been a blur for me, and now I was going to be sleeping in Vesper's home because she is ill and the only person that would know how to heal her is Kudzu, so she would have to wait until she returned, which would be fine because I had a hunch that the girls would finish their job early, but until I saw them, I wouldn't know and I was going to be there for Vesper as a way to prevent the illness from growing in strength. Vesper was asleep and I was wandering around her home, trying to get familiar with the surroundings that I would have to get used to for the next day at least. I was just about to go back to Vesper when I saw the three kits sleeping, although it was obvious that Chima was pretending, so I walked up to him and picked him up without warning, which made him yelp a little in surprise.**

**I placed Chima down quietly and let him follow me "Couldn't get to sleep hey buddy?" I asked and he shook his head. I got closer to him, wrapping him up with my tail "Well it's okay. I won't tell if you don't. Since we last talked properly Chima; have you thought about what you might want to evolve into when you grow up?" I looked down to see that Chima was wearing the same expression that he showed me when I first asked him that question, but this time it looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't'. I then saw that he was actually saying something, but there were now words coming out, I stopped him and checked to see if he was also ill, and I found that it was nothing serious, it was only a slightly sore throat, so he wouldn't be able to talk for a while, but he would soon be fine. "Okay, a Flareon?" I asked and he shook his head hastily. I went through the whole list with no success at which point I became to tired to even care if he didn't know what he wanted to be. I noticed that Chima was finally feeling tired again, I would just need to talk to him for a little longer and soon he would be asleep. "Are you looking forward to the tournament then?" I asked…big mistake.**

**He jolted up and began smiling excitedly "I'll take that as a yes. You know I still remember the year that Kudzu won it, she was incredible; outclassing absolutely everyone, and in the final she was against Amara who was also looking stronger than everyone. It's a shame I got beaten by her in the semi final, but we all got to watch such a great display of skill and finesse that both of the girls possess and use with such ease and fluency." I smiled down at Chima who stared in awe at the achievements that his new mother had reached; it was surprising that Kudzu hadn't settled down; then again, it was always like her to go against the normal system, but she has never been frowned upon because she is such a respected member of the clan. He began trying to yip to get me to tell more stories, but all that came out was what sounded like forced air "Come on buddy, you've got to go to sleep now. You're up too late anyway, so be good and go to sleep" I said sternly, but calmly so I didn't scare him. He curled up in between Nik and Cora again, and this time I let him try to return to sleep as I stared out into the night sky from the home's entrance; I was thinking about the girls and how they were doing now. Were they okay?**

**Kudzu's POV**

**I could not believe that this had happened again, after Amara and I got separated I had to take on the Aerodactyl, which had left me bruised considerably, but thankfully like many of my opponents outside of the clan, he underestimated my ability, so I used the opportunity to strike him hard with anything I could muster up when he was least expecting it. With one strong attack I was able to knock him out, but I was not finished because I remembered that Amara wasn't with me, so I now had to go and find her.**

**I was walking through any path necessary just to find where Amara may be. However, as I walked past one of the bushes I could've sworn that I heard someone, but I forgot about it because I had to concentrate on finding her. After another ten minutes of walking I began to smell burning which could only mean one thing to me. I began to pace over to where the smell was coming from and when I got there I recognised that it was the long path that ran through the forest, the one that the Aerodactyl chased me down on. However, when I was running my eyes across the road, I noticed something blocking the perfect vision of the road, I walked closer, inspecting the obstruction when I realised that the burning smell was coming from this thing instead, and what was even more shocking was the fact that this charred obstruction was in fact the Ursaring and he looked in much the same state that I left his friend in. **

**I figured out that he had a run in with Amara's overheat, but through the smell of burned fur and flesh, I could faintly pick up on Amara's scent. I traced the scent to a well hidden bush, so I followed it and found myself following a route that was almost as confusing as my own, but it was still easy to follow.**

"**Fine, be like that then!" I heard an angry voice shout, but it wasn't Amara's. I decided to investigate and find out who was making this much noise at this time of night and who could they be shouting at? When I got closer to where the shouting had come from I realised that I was still following Amara's scent, which lead me to the conclusion that she was with this loud being.**

**I finally found myself looking at Amara and then rushing towards her whilst she was in mid speech. I turned to face the being, who I now knew was a Glaceon named Frost. I quizzed him slightly unsure of his allegiance to us, he eventually told me that he was a human, and on top of that from another world where Pokemon don't exist. I felt so confused, but at the same time I knew that it was probably not best to go shouting that he was crazy because he seemed exhausted and confused, so instead I was friendly to him, which seemed to confirm that he was not a threat to us.**

**When we all went to sleep I was stuck with my thoughts, if this human was from another world how on earth did he get here? How was all this possible? I had so many questions, but I was worried that if I asked him then he may become furious because it would sound like I was interrogating him closely rather than politely trying to find out more about him. What if he's lying to us and is just trying to get into our clan to tell others of our location? We surely wouldn't survive if that were to happen. Amara and I were strong, but we wouldn't be able to save the whole clan, even if the whole guild helped us it would be an impossible task if the armada of attackers were too big. We would have to move to a safer location, or even become one of the travelling clans, although that would be tough because we are a particularly large clan and that would only put everyone at risk of capture.**

**I had so many thoughts whirring in my mind that I was starting to get a headache, so I decided to pace around our sleeping area until my headache subsided. However, just as I stood up I saw Amara get up with me and smile gently towards me "Too much to handle isn't it?" **

**I sighed and slowly shook my head "It is a lot, but I'm sure we can work it out." I paused "How did you find him?" Amara laughed a little bit for some reason.**

"**Well actually he found me, and then we got talking and he told me what had happened then you turned up. He seems quite nice, but I think he has a short temper" she said as she winked to me. I remained with a blank expression on my face "How do you think he managed to get here as a Glaceon?"**

**I closed my eyes for a moment to think of an answer, but I couldn't "I don't know. That's the question that has been hovering around me since he told us. It just doesn't seem possible; we're taking him back to our clan, but we need to keep a close observation on him just in case he actually wants to ruin our clan's secret location" Amara nodded "This won't be as simple as it was for Chima, because Frost can actually walk and won't be dependant on us, so be alert at all times" I warned, sounding serious.**

**Amara turned her head to stare at the stars, slowly fading as dawn would soon be upon us and soon we would have to return to the clan with our new guest. I looked over to the sleeping Glaceon who seemed upset even in his sleep, I sighed sadly, wondering why all this has to happen to us. Amara and I stayed still whilst we watched the sun rise. Both of us staring out into the pink sky "You do think that everything will go back to normal for us eventually don't you?" Amara questioned me; not averting he gaze at the picturesque scene unfolding before us, yet still maintaining a serious tone and expression. Once again I sighed, still at a loss for words.**

"**I don't know." I then stopped and changed my tone "I reckon our lives will become normal once Grumpigs are flying, and I really hope Grumpigs don't start flying" I joked, looking at Amara with a true sense of optimism filling me. I knew that in less than one short day I would be back at home, with my number one priority, my son.**

**A/N:** Well I hope you liked the chapter, and hopefully the twist in there as well (I loved writing it). I would like to thank Ultimate-Glaceon for letting me use his OC and hopefully I didn't disappoint you Glaceon. I'm willing to do some more OC's, but not many more, maybe like two or three; don't think it's first come first serve, I'll pick the ones I like most. Also, if you would like to review, feel free to. Okay, I'll update whenever I can. Thank you Byee :D


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Hello again, I know it's been a while, but my exams are now over and it has left me with a huge gap of time, so hopefully I'll be able to post a few good chapters plus this one. I stand by what I said last chapter that I am still accepting OCs. I do not own Pokemon, but I do own the characters in my story.

**Chapter 13**

**Taphyn's POV**

**I was still looking after Vesper and thankfully I had been able to stop her illness progress any further. She briefly woke up and told me that she had planned for the kids to go and see the older ones practice for the tournament that was going to take place the next day. I also had the job of taking Chima to Cutter and Larxene so that they could prepare him for the tournament, but personally I couldn't see Chima winning a fight because every other competitor there was evolved, and he was just a small Eevee with no type advantages. I thought that if he would lose then he may feel humiliated, which is not a nice feeling for anyone, let alone someone as young as him. **

**Dawn had already welcomed itself to our world and the welcome was returned as I watched the practice fields in the distance, slowly filling up with those eager to begin their training. 'There are a lot of Flareon this year' I thought to myself. I supposed it was due to Amara's popularity and shrugged it off as I saw a few others arrive: an Umbreon, an Espeon and a Jolteon walked together, demanding attention with each of their strides. I noticed that the Umbreon in particular looked extremely confident with herself. A single bold Flareon stepped up to them and I immediately knew that the Umbreon was being challenged to a fight. Both individuals got into position and then leapt at each other using their strongest attacks 'Typical of young ones to use their strongest attacks first' I thought as I chuckled to myself. I began to watch each of their moves intently when I suddenly felt tugging at my tail. Without thinking I turned round and saw that all three children were up and full of energy. I smiled at them happily, trying to keep them happy and hoping that they wouldn't notice that Vesper wasn't up as well. My act turned out to be hopeless as I heard Cora ask "Why's mum still sleeping?" I sighed and began to explain. Whilst I was explaining I noticed that both Cora and Nik were starting to well up, so I quickly stopped and decided now would be the right time to get them ready. I got them their food and made sure they were looking at least half decent. Then we set off towards the practice fields.**

**I laughed at how all three of them followed me closely because to anyone who saw me would have been shocked, not that I actually cared, because I was always known to be kind towards the children of our clan. When we arrived at the practice fields, many more had turned up to practice, so we had to weave our way through the crowd until we reached Crystal. "Excuse me Crystal" I said, catching her attention "could you please look after these two?" I asked gesturing towards Cora and Nik, who were now looking at Crystal, smiling innocently. **

**Crystal returned their smile then looked at me and nodded. That was all the confirmation I needed, so I began walking away, ushering Chima to follow, but as he began to I noticed he had a confused look on his face. "What's up kiddo?" I asked, and then I remembered that he couldn't speak because of his throat "I'm taking you to Cutter and Larxene so that you can practice for the tournament, remember?" I asked, which he replied by shaking his head. I was shocked, he obviously hadn't been told, so I decided to break the ice with him about it "Cutter and Larxene both agreed that you should enter the tournament. So rather than watch them practice, you're going to join in." He looked a little bit worried, but shook himself out of it and nodded slowly. **

**We reached the two Jolteon and they greeted us with energetic smiles. "Hello there" Larxene shouted excitedly and faced Chima "Are you ready?" he shouted with the same intensity and Chima nodded shakily. Cutter walked in front of Larxene and calmed him down.**

"**Thank you for bringing him here Taphyn. Although, I thought that Vesper was bringing him here" Cutter looked seriously at me. I remained calm and explained to him that Vesper was ill and therefore unable to bring them here without risking her own health. Cutter frowned "I see. When you see her tell her that I say get well soon." I nodded giving him a silent promise. He suddenly perked up and continued "Did you know that Kudzu and Amara came back not too long ago? Well, they came back in one piece and apparently they have another Glaceon with-" Cutter was interrupted by a familiar voice.**

"**With us? Yeah, that's right." Said the voice. It was Amara's. She was standing there with the sun shining directly on to her. From what I could see, she had been through a tough battle because there were very obvious cuts on her and her fur seemed to have less of a shine because of that. Behind her was Kudzu, but there was no sign of this other Glaceon "He's currently at my home with Demyx looking after him for the time being. I do not want anyone pestering him though, understand?" she snapped all of a sudden. Everyone nodded quickly, not wanting to get her angry.**

**I said my goodbyes and then set off back to Vesper, but I was stopped before I had left the practice fields "Wait for me" called Kudzu "You'll need me to heal Vesper" she winked. We both began walking away to Vesper's home. "So, how did this all happen exactly?" she asked. I returned with a slight smirk.**

"**I could ask you the same thing" I said, sticking my tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes and smiled contently.**

"**I asked about someone's health, you were just talking out of curiosity" she replied, showing a smirk of her own.**

**I gave in and explained to her exactly what happened from the moment that I had ran to her, the moment that she fainted and up until this conversation. Kudzu walked slowly, looking into my eyes, taking in every word I said. The whole conversation had lasted long enough so that when I had finished we arrived at Vesper's home and entered to see that she was still lying there, sleeping heavily, breathing heavily, everything seemed like an effort for her. Kudzu inspected Vesper and then turned her head to me and smiled "Well, the good news is that it's not serious. The only bad news is that it will be another couple of days until she will be back to full health, so she should be able to watch the tournament tomorrow, but she can't over exert herself" then she sat down beside me and gestured that I do the same. "Now, in answer to your curiosity" she began to tell me the whole tale, and I sat there in wonder. "Frost is not a normal Glaceon though" I cocked my head to the side frowning at Kudzu in confusion. She stopped and looked speechless for a moment until she shook herself and said "Never mind, it's not important." She insisted, which left me with a bittersweet feeling because now I knew about the Glaceon, but I also knew that something was being held back. However, I resisted the urge to pester Kudzu for an answer and just nodded, accepting the secret.**

**Chima's POV**

**I couldn't quite work it out. How had I been entered in the tournament? I knew less than anyone it seemed. However, I still agreed to take part, because it will surely give me a good experience of battling at a higher level than in class. Cutter opted to help me for the first half of the day "I know you probably weren't expecting to be entered, but the fact of the matter is that we need to see how good you actually are, because although you know you're not the strongest, you seem to think so much sharper than most of the others and that is what gives you an edge. However, I think we need to tone those attacks further so that you stand a chance when you actually attack." I slowly nodded and gave him a determined look. He smiled with slightly more energy than he previously had. "Follow me" he said, leading me into the middle of the practice field where I saw that there was a lone tree stump. "every year, this is where the winner would stand, but this year we have found a better plinth to stand our champion on, so as part of your preparation you will have to uproot this stump." He said, smirking a little. I took several paces back and began to charge towards the stump. I soon made contact.**

**I yelped loudly when I realised just how tough this stump was. It was obvious now why Cutter had been smirking. I repeated my attacks on the stump with the same intensity, but I couldn't feel the stump dislodging even a little, I growled in frustration at the stump and looked to Cutter who just nodded for me to continue. I fiercely charged at the stump again and finally felt it wobble slightly when I hit it. "Surely you know more than just quick attack. Why don't you practice that iron tail of yours. You'll find that it will be useful when you're against other opponents" Cutter said, guiding me in the right direction. I began to feel the energy consume my body, so focused all the energy into my tail and dashed towards the stump at full speed, still containing the energy in my tail. As I reached the stump I swiped my tail into its side and I heard a snap come from it. I turned to Cutter with glee, who returned my look with a soft smile and a nod. Then a thought occurred to me, so I began to dig a tunnel and decided that I would uproot the stump. I went the amount of distance that I thought was necessary and surfaced in front of Cutter. I looked around and saw that the stump had gone, but where. I suddenly recoiled from the shock caused by the same stump landing only centimetres from my sensitive tail. **

**I was breathing quickly next to Cutter who laughed lightly at my actions. "Okay, that was what I expected you to do after all those attacks I knew that you would have thought of another idea. However, I also have an idea. I will be your sparring partner" he said as he assumed a battling stance. I shakily copied him "Do not worry, I wouldn't injure you on the day before the tournament" he said as he leapt towards me, I tried to dodge, but with his type's obvious speed advantage it was near impossible, so he managed to push my back leg, which made me land awkwardly. I recovered in enough time to dodge his next attack. "I'm going to up my attacks now" he stated. **

**I noticed that his fur's spikes were becoming more pronounced and that was when I realised that he was about to unleash an electric attack. I dashed out of the way of the attack towards Cutter and managed to ram into the front of his chest, causing him to skid back a little. I sighed in relief as I saw that he was trying to recover. However, he wasn't trying to recover; he was charging to shoot another thundershock at me and it caught me off guard, electrocuting me and making my fur singed a little. When the attack had finished I was dazed, so I quickly dug underground to try and use the time to snap out of my daze.**

**Little did I know that a crowd was gathering to see Cutter battling me. I jumped out from the other end of the tunnel I created, which happened to be exactly beneath his underbelly. I slammed into him with such a force that he fell through the air several feet and shakily stood up. The crowd were watching in amazement as I was just about able to hold my own ground against Cutter. Cutter smiled in slight frustration as he repeatedly tried to shock me, but I was now able to judge each of his attack so that I was able to dodge most of them. At the moment when he paused to catch his breath, I charged forwards and at the same time focused energy into my tail. I reached him and jumped to slam my iron tail into his back. However, when I did make contact he did almost collapse in pain, but he still remained standing, and when I got down from my jump I realised that I could barely move. I had been paralyzed. Cutter used the opportunity to give me one final shock, but this shock was a lot stronger and hurt considerably more than the thundershock. I fell, exhausted from the battle. After lying down for a small amount of time Cutter appeared with what I recognised as a cheri berry, he forced me to chew a small amount of it and soon the paralysis was lifted and I felt a wave of relief as I stood up. **

**It was then that I noticed the crowd and they all began cheering for me and Cutter; he took a bow for the crown and I stood frozen, not knowing how to respond. I overheard some of them muttering about Kudzu "Well, this just proves that Kudzu's kit is gonna be just like her. I think this kid will go far in the tournament despite the obvious limitations. For goodness sake look how Cutter actually had to try in order to get him down."**

**Another Jolteon was muttering to a Vaporeon "He already gets my support. He's just so cute. And he doesn't seem anywhere near as arrogant as any of the others. Even the way he's just sitting there is making me lose it with his cuteness" I sighed again, not sure of how much more of this 'cute' talk I could stand, I wasn't the only Eevee, so why I was always called cute? I do not know.**

**Cutter approached me slightly panting from our battle "Whew, I've got to admit there, I did have to try in that, especially after that dig attack. I think that you'll be fine on the attacking front tomorrow. After a small break I'll hand you over to Larxene who will work on how you can try to defend yourself against attacks and even though you're already quick, he will also try to improve your speed more so that you can use it to your advantage, because that is currently the only thing you are equal to all the others on because they have all evolved." He paused "Let's go and have that break now" he uttered in between ever slowing pants. **

**After having a short break Cutter stood up and led me to Larxene who was waiting for me by having a practice battle with a young Leafeon who looked like they were struggling despite Larxene's type disadvantage. The Leafeon looked as shocked as I did at Larxene's resistance and Larxene just grinned as I saw sparks jump from his fur when he released a full power electric attack onto the young opponent. Leafeon fell to the ground and weakly muttered "Okay, you win". Larxene stopped and turned towards me and Cutter.**

"**Should've learned iron tail. You're gonna be the one to help him" He said to Cutter who walked in the direction towards the Leafeon to help it recover. "What do you say we get started then?" he asked me, to which I nodded eagerly in reply. "Okay, first let's get your defence up and see what we can do about your speed" he winked and we both walked back to the centre of the practice field. "Okay, so, the only way I can help you take attacks better is by attacking you, so first I'm going to start with a quick attack and you need to make sure that you are absolutely planted to the ground so that you receive less damage." He informed bluntly. I was shaking in anticipation and slightly in fear. Larxene paced far enough back to begin his surge.**

**I was struck hard in my side and flew through the air many metres, I stood up quickly, trying to brush the attack off as nothing, but in reality it hurt quite a lot. Larxene repeated this attack several times and there was always the same result. "Come on kid, remember, stay planted to the ground" I growled at him because I was desperately trying to do exactly that, but each of his attacks were too strong "If you can hold up against my attacks then you can hold up against any of the other's attacks."**

"**I wouldn't be so sure mister" shouted a new voice. Larxene and I turned to see who had sent the comment. It was an Umbreon accompanied by an Espeon and a Jolteon. The Umbreon was standing ahead of the other two with a smirk on her face, her teeth bearing slightly in a grin. "You" she looked at me "I think we should have a battle. I've heard that you're very strong, but I think that you need to be shown what it's really like to battle properly. Step aside Larxene, this is between the squirt and I" Larxene tried to intervene but gave up once the Umbreon was on the field, knowing that she wouldn't back down on the challenge "Seeing as the tournament is tomorrow, you will be able to stop the battle at any point, as will I" she bowed and began to take a battle stance towards me.**

"**Just because you're small and cute, it does not mean that I'm taking it easy on you" she growled confidently. We began with her disappearing and I began to panic, but was suddenly struck with a great force into my already bruised side. I yelped and skidded limply across the ground. I got up and saw that she was gone again. Once again I was hit with the same amount of force and was tossed into the air like a rag doll. I was now growling in frustration, which was growing by the second and with each hit I took I was losing more and more energy. I suddenly remembered that the attack she was using and quickly dug underground to provide temporary cover whilst I figured out the attack 'Faint attack' struck me as I worked out a new plan. I resurfaced only to get slammed again, but this time I got up quickly and waited for the next attack.**

**Just moments before I thought she was going to strike I used iron tail on the ground, creating a small dip in the ground and launching me into the air. I watched from above as she ran into nothing, tripped and was now left defenceless as I fell towards her, concentrating energy into my tail again and striking the base of her neck, causing her to yelp in shock and in pain. I quickly jumped away to assess the damage I had done and then quickly charged in again to strike with a quick attack. I landed the attack with more force than needed and the Umbreon crumpled at the blow to her side. "Okay! I'm done" she billowed. I immediately stopped and rushed towards her side, to try and help her up. She looked at me and smiled "Not to bad short stuff" she winked "especially for a kid. However, try to do that in the tournament and I'll unleash everything I have on you" she smiled jokingly. **

**The Jolteon spoke to me "I hope I get to battle you, because you won't stand a chance against my electric attacks." He smiled smugly. **

**Larxene looked at the Jolteon "Did you not see him against Cutter? He made Cutter work for the victory. If I was you I would be shaking a little bit because imagine what he will be like when he does evolve." The Jolteon shrugged and looked away from me.**

"**I think he's right. Look at what he did to me" the Umbreon agreed. She shoved me playfully and then the group walked off. Larxene stepped in front of me and watched them leave.**

"**What a nice girl" I assumed he was talking about the Umbreon seeing as the Espeon hadn't talked and the Jolteon was a boy. He turned to face me again "Shall we continue?" I nodded and we resumed our training until we heard a familiar voice call to us.**

"**Chima, I'm here!" called out Kudzu, she was running towards Larxene and I. However, Larxene stopped her and faced me with a grin on his face.**

**He looked to me and nodded "Remember what I said, the instant that it hits you, point down." I knew what he was talking about. Kudzu looked worried as she heard Larxene's fur beginning to crackle with the electricity building up until he shot the bolt right at me. Kudzu was about to scream, but I had already prepared an iron tail and turned to let the bolt strike it. The moment I felt the electricity jolt my tail, I quickly slammed it to the ground, causing all the electricity to not affect me any more than a slight shock to my tail. Larxene ginned and rushed towards me to embrace me best he could "Well done! I knew you could do it. Just a few thunderbolts and you get it right. You know how to handle any electric attack now…..well any electric attack that isn't a physical attack, but with the speed that we worked on you should be able to just about dodge them." He beamed as we walked over to Kudzu who had the largest look of relief on her face. She nuzzled me as I walked to her side and I returned it with my own. **

**She looked at Larxene and then suddenly slapped him with her tail "That is for scaring me!" she shouted and then she quickly healed the mark where Larxene was slapped "That is for helping him. Thank you." She said calmly. Larxene stared with a face of confusion. He tried to utter out some words but couldn't and Kudzu just smiled as we turned to walk away, brushing her tail against his face as we left. **

**As we left the fields Kudzu slowed up and was soon walking behind me when she decided to pick me up. I protested, but it was all in vain as I was carried to our home. When we arrived home I was set down upon our bed and Kudzu quickly got settled around me. "I'm sorry about that, but it's just been too long since I've been able to talk to you and to know that you're safe. How was it staying with Nik and Cora? Did you like it? Did you behave yourself? Did you go to sleep when you were told?" she asked. My ears dropped a little at the last question, which alerted Kudzu and she looked at me slightly angrily "Why didn't you go to sleep when you were told Chima?" I tried to answer, but because of my throat I was unable to explain why. She frowned as I began shaking in fear at my punishment, despite my mind telling me that it wasn't that bad. She wrapped round me tighter "sshh, sshh, it's okay, just in future listen to your elders. Especially someone like Vesper" she hushed, immediately calming me, causing me to paw at her for attention, which I soon got, but not in the form I wanted, instead I was given another 'bath'. Kudzu lay still and waited for me to fall asleep again.**

**Kudzu's POV**

**Only minutes later Chima was asleep and peacefully dreaming. Once again, I was watching him sleep and listening to him breathe, this was all I needed to carry on for the day. We made good time in the morning to reach our clan by the time practice had started. Frost had been able to keep up with our run without any problems apart from the occasional whine from his 'aching paws'. However, Amara and I were happy to arrive home. Almost as soon as we entered Frost asked where he was staying, which Amara volunteered to do because she didn't think Chima would be able to cope with the knowledge. I had to admit that Amara was right, Chima's young mind wouldn't be able to process the idea of a human turning into a pokemon, or the fact that Frost also supposedly came from a different world to our own.**

**As if on cue, Amara walked in and began to smile at me and Chima. Soon after Amara entered, so did Demyx "Well it's good to see that you've settled back into your daily routine again" Demyx joked and I gave him a mock growl which startled him a little, making me laugh. Demyx smirked "I know that he's going in the tournament and I just wanted to wish him good luck, but it seems that his training today was pretty intense" he paused "In relation to Frost's…. incident? We have decided that it is best that he remains with the clan without any trial, which I know may seem odd since you found Chima in nearly the same circumstances, but we couldn't possibly let a human out in those woods alone in a body that they don't know how to control." I frowned slightly, but soon accepted it. There was no way I could overrule that decision. "So, how far do you reckon he will make it?" he asked me "Maybe he will take after you and win as an Eevee, even if he's the only one in the competition that hasn't evolved. I don't suppose you heard how well he seemed to hold up against Cutter." He said and I looked at Chima, he looked so innocent that no one would think that he can battle so well. "I think he could win if he keeps his mind sharp" I said nothing, just appreciating the support that he was receiving.**

**Slowly he began to stir from his sleep and droopily lifted his eyes "What's going on?" he asked, his voice still a little bit rough from his throat. **

**Amara walked towards him and sat down beside him like I was and Demyx soon joined us as well, forming a triangle around him, which he must've seen as intimidating because he began to shift closer to me with his ears back against his head. "It's okay, we're only here to support you" Amara hushed lightly "We just want to wish you good luck in the tournament. Did you know that your mother was the champion once? And that was when she was an Eevee as well". She even beat me to get it" Amara winked. She then looked at me "It wasn't too long after that when we evolved was it?" I shook my head. Although, when I had won, I was at least a year older than Chima is, and it there were far more Eevee competing, whereas Chima had to competed against evolved forms, so it was much more unlikely that he would win. Amara, Demyx and I continued to converse as Chima went back to sleep. "Okay, tell me now." She looked at me, confusing me completely "What do you think he'll evolve into?" I shook my head and let Amara continue to dream "Maybe he'll become a strong Umbreon or maybe a dashing young Flareon, or maybe a caring Leafeon, like you" she smiled to me.**

"**I think he will become a Glaceon like Taphyn, he already shows that he thinks about things before doing them, even if they are brief thoughts sometimes" Demyx stated. **

**I just shook my head "I do not care what he evolves in to as long as he's happy I will be too." I stopped and then remembered what I had been meaning to ask "How is Frost by the way?"**

"**He's doing fine, most of the day he's just been sleeping, but I suppose we did push him a bit hard on the way back" Amara replied, sticking her tongue out at me playfully.**

"**Hey Amara, you now have a kit of your own" I joked "only thing is, he claims to be older than both of us and is a fully developed Glaceon" we laughed at our terrible attempts of a joke, each one ending in fits of laughter. Only Demyx was able to resist laughing and even he was smiling. After some time, Amara decided that they needed to leave. We exchanged our goodbyes and soon I was left alone with Chima again. **

**I knew that the next day was going to be stressful for me. I could barely watch Chima try to absorb Larxene's electric attack, it scared me half to death when the bolt struck his tail. That was only one attack and I was already nearly screaming. He would have to deal with a barrage of attacks from his opponents and although their attacks were weaker it would still hurt if they hit. All of the evolved children knew their special attacks; the Umbreons would know faint attack, the Glaceons would know ice shard, the Flareons would all know flamethrower, although they would be considerably weaker forms than when they grow up. However, I knew that it was a celebration for all the young to show off their new abilities and skills, so everyone would enjoy themselves whether they were fighting or not. I left Chima to rest up for the next day as I passed the time until I too had to go to sleep, assuming the same protective position around him.**

**Amara's POV**

**I woke up from a well deserved rest. It had been a full two days since I had actually got some sleep, but getting up early was a must for the day because I had to be at the teacher briefing before the tournament. All teachers were present as we ran through all the proceedings of the day. It amazed me how many of the children had evolved. It seemed that every year they seemed to evolve quicker than the year before, because this year there was only one Eevee in the tournament and that was Chima. **

**Soon the rest of the guild arrived to here a repeat of the proceedings, Kudzu had come along with Chima who stood groggily, trying to keep his eyes open. I couldn't help but giggle a little at his actions as he curled up by Kudzu's side and fell asleep. It seemed that the rest of the guild had also been watching Chima, because they all smiled in unison the moment that he laid his head down. "Definitely like Kudzu as a kit eh?" Devin said, receiving a nudge from me. I smiled at the memories I had of Kudzu when we were both Eevee; she was always doing what she wanted, regardless of what it was that she wanted.**

**After the meeting had finished it was already close to when all the competitors would be arriving. We began to mark out the official battle areas and soon everything was ready for the competition. I smiled as I saw a group of newly evolved children approaching and they had their usual air of youthful confidence about them, which was good to see even if they were overconfident. They all stared at Chima as they walked past him, causing him to slowly stir from his nap. Kudzu quickly rushed over to him and whispered some words of encouragement before she took him over to the waiting area with Crystal and the small group sitting there.**

"**So, I guess this is it" she started "After nearly a whole year of training and they're now ready for this" I nodded quietly in agreement as I watched and saw more of them appearing. "How many are there this year?" Kudzu asked.**

"**Sixty four" I muttered "and this year they are starting with a double battle. We're gonna let them choose their partner" explaining the new format to her. She nodded and turned to walk to her post with the rest of the guild. She and the rest of the guild would have the best view of the battles apart from the teachers. I swished my tail nervously when I saw that the last one had arrived, so I had to announce the news to them. "Okay" I shouted over the crowd "Listen up. We're going to start the tournament battles which different to any other year. You're going to be competing in double battles, so everyone pick someone to work with." Immediately there was a large amount of shuffling until they had all picked their partner to work with. "I'm going to hand this all to Demyx now" I announced as I left their attention and Demyx stepped forwards.**

**He looked around at the crowd and smiled. He said to the crowd "This tournament was created to honour all of our young and their achievements. Even from back when I was a kit I can still remember watching this, in awe of how strong all the competitors were. And I couldn't wait to be a part of it myself because I wanted to be as powerful as those who I watched. However, you must remember that because this is honouring you, you must not be disheartened if you lose. You just have to remember that you are doing your best and in that knowledge you should be happy with who you are. Whoever emerges victorious will be the champion yes, but you must see yourself as the champion, regardless of what others tell you, and if you remember this then you will be able to move forward with your life." The words were inspiring them and all of them began to smile in admiration of his words. He finished "With all that said, we can now let the tournament commence." And everyone cheered in excitement. **

**I had sorted out all of the battles within moments. And we were ready to watch all battles take place before us. And soon we fixed our attention to the double battles as they unfolded, revealing weaker match ups with the stronger pairs. The most successful pairs were those who were able to defend each others weakness, this was testing their minds in battle because if they lost their partner, then they would be at a disadvantage fighting the two from the other team. I was not regretting the decision made for double battles. We had seen most of the battles when I noticed that the next battle was Chima, who had teamed up with Sae. I watched as the two nervously waited for the next battle to finish. They would be up against a Vaporeon named Laure and a Jolteon named Mathis. This was going to be a hard battle for all of them.**

**The battle before them had finished with a young Leafeon managing to overhaul an Espeon in a final clash of their attacks. The Leafeon's partner, a Vaporeon stood up weakly and stumbled to him as the victors of the battle. Demyx stepped into the middle of the field as the remaining pokemon left the field. "Congratulations you two, you deserved every bit of that victory. And well done to you two" he gestured towards the Espeon and his partner "You fought valiantly and shown all the courage that makes our clan proud of who we are." He waited for them to leave the field and then spoke up again "Let's get our next battle underway. Welcome our battlers." He shouted as all four competitors padded on to the field; Chima looking more nervous than any of them, but his nerves were evened out by Sae's enthusiasm as he gave words of encouragement to his less bouncy partner. "Our two teams consist of Sae and Chima" Demyx pointed to his left "and Laure with Mathis. Good luck to the four of you and may the best of you win" he cleared his throat as he walked off the field and then shouted "Begin".**

**Chima's POV**

**I assumed an attacking stance and growled at my opponents to warn them that Sae and I meant business and we intended to win. Laure fired a jet of water towards Sae who barely dodged and was caught off guard when he realised that Mathis had obviously charged towards him as well. Mathis' fangs sparked electricity as he sunk his teeth into Sae who yelled in pain. It all happened so quickly that I couldn't react to help him out before Mathis stepped a safe distance away from us. "Are you okay?" I asked Sae quickly**

"**That hurt a lot, but yeah I can handle it" he said, gritting his teeth in pain. I decided it was our turn to attack, but before I could try Sae stopped me and said "Do you think you can handle the heat?" I looked at him and he shook his head "If you run through my flamethrower with a quick attack then we should be able to do a lot of damage." He explained and I nodded, we needed to get an attack in fast. Sae exhaled sending a stream of fire towards Laure and I quickly rushed in and ran through the flames, which stung harshly but I endured the pain to slam into Laure who was almost unfazed by the fire, but nearly crumpled from the blow she received to her skull from my quick attack. However, she quickly countered using another water gun, but I had already anticipated this and dug underground just in time.**

"**Wha-? But how?"** **I heard Laure scream in surprise. I followed where I believed Mathis was and sure enough when I surfaced I made direct contact and thath single attack was enough to make Mathis go down. I looked at him as he nodded to me sincerely. Sae had obviously hit him with a flamethrower because his fur was singed in several places. Now it was me and Sae against Laure and I felt confident now. However, that confidence was slashed when I turned around to see that Laure had fired a water pulse at point blank range into Sae, who was now on the ground, knocked out. Laure turned round and gave me a sadistic smile "Just you and me now" she winked. I was now alone facing an opponent who was obviously mad that she had lost her partner in the battle and this had made her stronger with her attacks. I frowned towards her, showing her that I was ready for anything she threw at me. She shot another water gun at me, but I easily dodged and ran towards her at blistering speed, but she fired another causing me to lose my footing in an attempt to dodge, which gave her time to pin me down and begin charging a water pulse. I had to think quickly or lose and I preferred the first option,** **so in pure retaliation I whacked the bottom of her tail with my iron tail, which caused her to flip over me and land on her back. **

**I quickly got her in the same pin that she held me in just moments before. I then decided to try and finish it then, so I shifted my paws to the ground and quickly began to dig; letting Laure take the full impact of the speed I was shifting the dirt at. Then as I reached the depth that I wanted it to be I finally returned her wink from earlier with my own before I ran out of the hole "Coward" she shouted and I began to hear her run out as well. I waited just out of view, chargin up the energy in my tail, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. I chose to spin just before she came out, making my iron tail critically hit the girl's head, causing her to yelp as she leapt out at an odd angle due to the force of my attack and land onto the hard ground with a 'thud'. Laure was also out. The entire crowd began to cheer loudly when they realised the battle was over, but because Sae had been hit hard, he smiled at me from where he was being treated by Kudzu. She was using synthesis on him to heal his wounds, getting them ready for the next battle.**

**Demyx walked over to me as Laure was also escorted off of the field "Well done, that was superb battling there." He said directly to me before turning his head to the crowd "Well, there we have it. Another great battle followed by very deserving victors. I think I can see a fan base building for the only Eevee in this year's competition, and as for Sae, all the others will need to be worried for his fiery embrace in battle, even for those of you who may be more resistant to fire. Although they were our victors, let us not forget that there were the other two competitors who put in a monumental effort and made the whole battle tantalisingly close. We thank you for providing such a great battle for us to watch, but don't forget to thank yourselves and each other for your shared effort that could have rivalled one of our own guild's teams. Now, let us carry on with the tournament with our final double battle before the final thirty two face off." He announced, walking off with me as I went to Kudzu to get healed for my next battle. **

**Laure approached me wearing a smile that I hadn't seen in our battle "Well done" she said "I'm sorry about calling you a coward, I just get so caught up in the heat of a battle that I forget about being respectful to my opponent sometimes" she laughed nervously, then started again "I think your next opponent is Sami. He's Mathis' twin brother and he's an Umbreon." She looked around quickly before lowering her head to whisper to me "If you get the chance, hit his left foreleg, it's his weak spot ever since he was an Eevee. I'm telling you this because I want you to beat him because he's a little bit too arrogant for my liking, which he never used to be." She lifted her head and looked around to make sure that no one had heard her.**

**Kudzu then walked over to me "Hello there. That was a great battle you two had there" she said to both of us "I suppose you'll both need to be healed. Is it alright if I heal Laure first?" she asked me and I nodded happily. Kudzu then walked over to Laure and her leaf tail began to glow a soothing green. She placed it on Laure who happily soaked up the energy that she was being given "It's so much easier when they're water types" she chuckled "when fire types are injured they just try and raise their body temperature to heal themselves, which means that I always feel like I'm burning when I heal them" Laure walked out of the tail's reach and turned to face us. **

"**Thank you miss Kudzu, I feel a lot better now and I hope Chima wins his next battle" she winked at me "I know who I'm supporting now" she smiled at Kudzu and walked into the crowd, slowly disappearing from our sight. I then felt something pressing against me, which I soon noticed was Kudzu's tail releasing the energy she absorbed onto me. I could feel the energy healing me; all my bruises either vanished or became a lot less painful. I could also feel the energy running through my blood, giving me the feeling of an adrenalin rush, without the crash effect afterwards.**

**Kudzu then stopped and began to nuzzle me gently "I knew that you and Sae could pull it off. However, you really mustn't worry me like that when you ran into Sae's flamethrower. That was very risky and you could have been more injured than you were. Remember that it doesn't matter how far you go, I'll always be proud of you, my little Eevee" she cooed. She gently began to clean my fur and get me ready for my next battle against Sami. I had no idea how this battle was going to turn out, but thanks to Laure I now had inside knowledge on his weakness, so I did have that advantage, but I couldn't depend on advantage alone, so I began to get into 'the zone' ready for battle.**

**A/N:**There you have it. I hope I haven't disappointed people after the wait, which I am really sorry for. I hope you liked it and I hope you'll let me know what you specifically liked about it. The next chapter will be out within the next two weeks, so I look forward to sending it then. You may have noticed that RedWingZero is now Beta'ing my story. So all of my chapters will be updated soon, which will make for smother reading if you want to read again. And will hopefully make it better for any new readers feel free to review, bye 


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Hope I haven't left this one too long. After posting chapter 13 I have had a lot more support which is great and I thank everyone so much, without you I probably would have stopped :') enough with the soppy stuff though. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last one. I do not own Pokemon, but I do own the characters in the story.

**Chapter 14**

**Amara's POV**

**We all watched Chima and Sae's victory in awe. I had only seen Chima battle once before, but he had improved even since then, which was incredibly because we could visibly watch him improve as the battle went on. I was constantly having the match commented on by everyone from the guild, all of them mentioning his quick wit at least once, because it seemed he was so much more alert of his surroundings during a battle and this made him so much harder to score a hit on. The main blessing that his opponents would have is that he is structurally weaker than them, so even scoring a small hit would do more damage than any of the other competitors. Even the other competitors, they all seemed wary of him now, because they had seen how quickly he had been able to turn around the battle he had against Laure and Laure was known for being particularly difficult to beat if she had the initial advantage. Not only that, but Chima had also shown that he could hit hard and hit effectively. "I think he could win it." Devin spoke to me. **

**I turned and faced him and smiled "Do you really think so? I don't mean to be offensive or anything, but everyone else has evolved and that puts them at a huge advantage from the outset." **

**Devin shook his head and laughed a little bit "Power isn't what wins battles outright though is it Amara? You still get beaten by Kudzu despite the huge type disadvantage. No, it is more the mental aspect of a battle that decides the winner and from what we've all seen; Chima has the superior mindset once he's in a battle." I digested his words and accepted them, because he was right. "Anyway" he continued "who do you think will win this battle? My bet is on Shar, he's worked so hard since his evolution and he's absolutely brilliant with his fire attacks. You did brilliantly with your teaching, but can we expect anything less?" I smiled proudly at his compliments.**

**I looked across to the battle and saw that Shar was clearly dictating the battle, not giving his Glaceon opponent any chance to fight back. I watched proudly as I saw Shar fire one more jet of fire at his opponent, but the Glaceon dodged at the last second and smiled slyly at Shar who was now shocked at how she now had more energy after all the pain she had endured. Shar had clearly lost some energy because he was constantly attacking her, trying to push her into submission, but she never gave in, so it came as a huge surprise to everyone when she lurched forwards and fired an oversized water pulse right in front of him, causing the pulse to swipe Shar and quickly change the outcome of the match. In one quick move the Glaceon had wipe out the competition, Shar was out. Devin and I looked at each other in shock and then at Crystal who was looking at her student with pride. "How did she know that?" I asked her.**

**Crystal looked at me and said "I have no idea, but Margaux has got a Vaporeon mother, brother and father, so I guess she was bound to pick up on some of their attacks. Otherwise I think Shar would have easily won it." Margaux approached Crystal with a smile on her face. **

"**How did I do?" she asked excitedly "I thought that I would try out a water pulse because my brother had always been saying how great an attack it was, so he showed me how to do it and we both practiced it until I finally got it." She jumped with glee. I turned to face a disappointed Shar.**

"**Okay kid, there was nothing you could have done to be ready for that. Sometimes you do have battles where the unexpected happens, so don't get too beat up over it." I cheered him up a little bit because I saw a small smile of acceptance cover his face as he walked away towards Vesper and his little brother and sister who greeted him loudly, congratulating him on his efforts. I smiled as I saw Cora and Nik try to climb over their brother whilst mother and son talked. "Right, who's next?" I asked.**

**Demyx turned to face me "You take your pick." He smiled. I chose the battle that included Chima; he was against a young Umbreon named Sami. This was going to be interesting. Demyx did his usual stage introductions and both of the battlers entered the field, Chima once again looking nervous, and without Sae's aid he could not cover it as well as before. I knew Kudzu would be watching this battle intently, but I think she knew that Sami was one of the overwhelming favourites to win. However, Shar was also a favourite and he got defeated by a type disadvantaged opponent, so anything could happen and as long as Chima thought fast he would have a decent chance against Sami. The crowd cheered for both competitors as they waited for Demyx's command to stat the match. Both of them were staring harshly at each other, determination filling their eyes, each of them trying to break the other. "Begin" Demyx shouted, but neither moved, still trying to win their mental battle. However, as soon as Chima twitched his foot they both began charging towards each other, but as I expected, Sami disappeared for a faint attack, which caused Chima to stop for a moment until he was violently struck in his side by Sami, who immediately disappeared again, leaving Chima in much the same position as before.**

**Chima's POV**

**Even compared to yesterday; that faint attack hurt a lot. I knew I couldn't take much more of those hits. I had to find a way to detect when and where he was going to attack, but I couldn't work out any way, I would just have to guess and strike his front legs. This time I didn't wait for him to shunt me into the ground, so I ran evasively, and it worked. I saw Sami appear just metres in front of me, unaware of my presence charging towards him; I surged forwards with all the speed I could summon and attacked him on his apparent weak spot, which caused him to yelp in a horrible pitch, making everyone shudder. I had no idea that it would affect him so much. I wanted to say sorry, but that would have to wait for after the battle so I quickly charged up an iron tail and slammed into his left foreleg again, causing him to fall to the ground in agony. I noticed that he was actually crying due to the sheer amount of pain that I was dishing out on him. I charged up another iron tail and just before I delivered the final blow to his leg I muttered to him "I'm so sorry." And once again I slammed my tail into his left foreleg. He screeched horribly, causing the crowd to go silent as he finally fainted from the onslaught. I felt terrible, so I quickly called for Kudzu to come over and heal him. As I left the field at Sami's side there were no cheers, but in all honesty I was not at all concerned about that.**

**After a few more minutes of silence Sami began to stir. As soon as he opened his eyes and gathered his surroundings he saw me looking at him worriedly. "I guess I lost then" he grunted. I nodded at him, but he then put on a half smile "Well you did well I suppose. You deserve it." I was about to tell him how sorry I was again, but he quickly stopped me "It's okay, I know you didn't mean to cause me that much pain and hey, it's a battle right." I nodded, still feeling extremely guilty. Demyx interrupted the moment and spoke to me**

"**Chima, the crowd would like to thank you for your support to Sami. Only from true champions have we seen such graciousness to their opponents. Whether you win or lose, you will always be remembered for this, thank you." I nodded humbly at this message. I heard that more and more of the crowd were beginning to stir and eventually all began to cheer for me. However, these were not cheers of 'well done', no. These were cheers of 'thank you' and I was grateful that I had caused no spite during the battle. "You have progressed to the last sixteen now. You're probably going to need some rest, so go over to Kudzu. Your next opponent will be decided in this next battle, so if I were you I would watch closely." I agreed and quickly padded over to Kudzu who healed me again and then held me close to her as we watched the next battle. I immediately recognised the Espeon as the friend of the Umbreon I battled the day before, and she was putting up a good fight, but losing to a Leafeon. A razor leaf was sent directly towards the Espeon, who tried to counter with confusion by sending them back. However, the Leafeon would have already moved away. Kudzu smiled.**

"**I don't know who's been teaching that girl, but she is very good. I think you're gonna have a tough match either way." She said to me and I got the feeling that she was supporting the Leafeon and sure enough she finished the battle by launching an energy ball at the Espeon who stopped the attack, but was blinded and was then attacked by a magical leaf attack, which was enough to take out the Espeon and the Leafeon sighed with relief that the close contest was finally over. "I don't know if you'll be able to get her Chima, she looks very strong." I pawed at her in protest to which she chuckled "It'll take a lot more than that to beat her or me" she winked, knowing that I was actually getting more support from her than I knew.**

**The Leafeon approached to be healed and I released a small growl to warn her, but yet again I was 'aww'd at, which was not pleasing me any further. "Why does she get your support more?" I asked Kudzu who looked down at me.**

"**You're not getting jealous are you?" she chuckled and I quickly turned my head to resume frowning at the Leafeon. **

"**Sorry about that." She said "I couldn't help it, when you growled you were just so cute that I couldn't help it. I know that it's not nice, trust me when you have as many older siblings as I do, you'll know what it's like. They were all adults when I was just a little kit like you, so I know what you're going through and I know that it sucks, but it won't last forever. I look forward to battling you by the way. I can't believe how quickly you took out Sami, everyone thought he was going to walk out from that battle without any damage, but you really did beat him easily. You literally shocked everyone, not just because of his screams, but the absolute determination you showed in that battle meant you were able to take the attacks and then fight back with matching power. However, this does not mean you will beat me so easily, I'm ready for anything you've got." We both nodded at each other and went our respective ways to get ready for our battle, I could almost tell that this was going to be the most difficult battle yet, but I was not going to shy away at any opportunity presented to me. **

**I took some time to simmer down, keeping myself to myself and focusing on everything that I would need to win. 'I will win. I believe I can do it. My friends believe in me. If they find a reason, I'll just turn and go and show them why I am here.' I was interrupted in my thoughts by Kudzu "Are you ready?" she asked and I nodded with a stern expression on my face. We walked towards the battlefield and I was quickly consumed by the moment. I could hear no one except Demyx calling us onto the field.**

"**This is our first battle to decide our top eight battlers. We are now approaching the mid point in this tournament and this is where the competition gets even tougher, because to raise the stakes there will be no healing after battle unless you lose. However much you may feel like you want to fall flat on your face, you have got to find that extra energy to not give up in order to win. It is as much of a mental competition as it is physical. Okay, let's welcome our first battlers trying to reach the top eight. We have Lucie and the only Eevee in the competition, but by no means the weakest, Chima." The crowd roared in excitement, there were screams for both Lucie and myself as we got ready and into position, once again facing each other in an inescapable glare, trying to break each other's will. "As this is at the half way point, I would like to see competitors bow before battle to show respect for their achievements." Demyx suggested. We complied by bowing sincerely to each other, but never breaking eye contact. "As soon as I walk off the battlefield you may begin in your own time." He coolly said as he began to gently walk away "I'm off" he finished.**

"**Anytime you want now" shouted one of the spectators. Both Lucie and I were testing each other's patience, waiting for the first strike, but we stood there for what felt like ages although it was only a few seconds. What I hadn't realised was that she actually used the time when we weren't moving to fire a leech seed that hit me and the vines quickly grew on me, but didn't hinder my movement at all. I decided that I had better make a move so I dashed towards her whilst she was charging up an energy ball. She released it early, so when it hit me I was able to shrug it off easily and score a hit on her. Lucie quickly reacted by tripping me with her tail and pinning me down, but unlike the last time I was pinned I was helpless to the attack, so I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth ready to take the hit. Trying to dig to avoid the attack would have been useless because the energy ball would have followed me into the hole, so I just waited as I could hear her charging one up. When the ball hit I didn't make a sound, but it hurt much more than anything I had been through in a battle before. Just as I thought the pain was receding I felt my energy being sapped even further. **

**I groaned as the attack faded and quickly seized the opportunity to dig away, and then an idea struck me 'If she were to send an energy ball down here it would bounce on the ground walls, so if I dodge at the right moment and send it back then I could use her own attacks against her' I smiled at my thoughts, which were so critical at this moment in the battle. I stopped digging when I felt like there was comfortable distance between myself and Lucie and I angled the end of the tunnel so that when the energy ball was fired down at me, it would deflect and get sent back to her. Within seconds of me finishing my preparations the energy ball raced towards me and I quickly ducked underneath it and waited for it to bounce back, and when I saw it fly past me again I smiled again and began dashing behind it. I quickly dashed into it and hit it with just enough force to make it pick up speed. It was almost a repeat of when I faced off against Cada as I saw Lucie get stunned by her own energy ball and then take a second hit from my quick attack. However, I quickly prepared an iron tail as she charged at me, so I swung with full intensity, causing her to fly several metres until she hit the ground.**

"**This is tougher than I thought" she said tiredly. What I didn't realise was that as she stopped me by talking to me, she was actually charging up a solar beam and I only realised when I saw the great beam of light stretch out to hit me with such a force that I sailed through the air, but quickly composed myself to land on all four paws, much to both her surprise and the audience's. I quickly puffed and sighed in relief that I had endured the attack. However, just as I was about to make my final move I once again felt energy being sapped from me and at the same time I saw that Lucie's health was improving slightly. I crumpled a little and I heard many voices in my head in those split seconds I was down.**

"**You will not beat me."**

"**You'll be too injured."**

**But the words that were stuck in my head the most were Kudzu's, "I don't know if you'll be able to get her." Her words echoed in my mind as constant motivators to keep me going through all the pain, but now this pain was becoming more and more unbearable, but I couldn't just let these thoughts win over my mind. It didn't matter what they all thought, I was going to beat Lucie no matter how much I was in pain. I opened my eyes and stood back up to see that Lucie was still trying to regain some energy, so I sprinted silently towards her until at the last second I screamed, getting her to jolt up, causing me to get a strong hit on her chest and quickly follow up with another iron tail and was successful, but I then noticed one flaw in my attack, I was now underneath her and she immediately pinned me down like Laure had done.**

**She leant down and whispered to me "night night little one" she then swished her tail round to strike my helpless form with her own iron tail; I cringed as all of my body tensed up to try and recover. I tried the same tactic that I had used against Laure, but Lucie always moved in time. I prayed to Arceus that this would end soon, but this was going to be far from over as I finally decided to try something new by moving my legs as if I was running. At first Lucie laughed, but soon she was finding it difficult to keep a strong hold on me, which in turn meant that she could not aim properly with her iron tail. Suddenly I heard her yelp as she hit her own leg with her iron tail and I seized the opportunity to scamper away as quickly as I could. I saw that her iron tail, as painful as it was, had actually done little damage to me, so I began to charge again and this time I jumped onto Lucie's back and slammed my iron tail on her spine, causing her to tumble to the ground and moan as she shakily stood up. **

**For some reason I felt calm and soon found myself closing my eyes and I breathed in slowly, causing me to open my eyes, but all I could see was black, apart from at the edges of my view where there was a tinge of purple and then even a small glance of normal colour. I quickly exhaled and saw that the black and purple tine that had covered my sight flew in the form of an orb into the back of Lucie's head, causing her to tumble again and this time stay down on the floor as she was about to be declared out. However, she painfully stood up and we both glared at each other, I didn't have time to be shocked after that attack, so I let loose a barrage of quick attacks on her to see if I could finally finish the battle, all the while my energy was getting sapped by the leech seed again. **

**After many more quick attacks to her, she finally went down and gave up. I stood before her panting profusely, because that battle had taken the most energy by far. The battle had lasted in excess of five minutes, during which we had almost been beating each other senselessly, just to make it to the next round. I sighed in relief when I saw that she had finally given up and just waited for Demyx to walk on and congratulate me, so then I could walk off and watch the remaining battles. Lucie smiled at me and said "Hard luck I suppose. Then again, I'm gonna get healed and you have to stay in that state for the next battle, good luck" she chuckled and finally Demyx made his way over to us.**

"**Need I even say how impressive that battle was between you two? Both of you showed such great force and determination to win that no one could predict the outcome, and although the odds seemed stacked against Chima, he still battled on and used his quick wit to help out his situation again. Lucie was constantly threatening to strike the final blow and every time she hit, it seemed like the match was going to be over, and then every time Chima struck back it seemed that Lucie was going to go down. This battle was without a doubt one of the greatest that this clan has ever witnessed and we are extremely humbled to be able to watch a battle with such ferocity and grace. Everyone here thanks you two." Demyx cheered to us, making sure that the crowd heard and soon they all began to cheer for us. "Congratulations to Chima for reaching the final eight, which in itself is a grand achievement, considering the level of talent this year. You'd better get ready for the next round. As you know there will be no healing for the victors, so you will just have to rest and hope that you heal quickly." I padded my way over to Kudzu and looked at her pleadingly, but she knew that I was joking and I understood the rules.**

"**Why don't you go over to Cora, Nik and the others, you haven't spoken to them in a while." She suggested, so I walked over to Nik, Cora and Vesper who were accompanied by a Flareon who I guessed was their brother from the previous nigh I spent with their family. They all faced me and smiled, except for the Flareon who just sighed and looked away glumly again.**

**Cora and Nik jumped on me, but quickly got off once I yelped a little, my bruises still fresh from the battle. "How did you manage to beat Lucie? You know that she's in top group for the Leafeon class right? Both of you kept going, how?" Cora asked as I shook myself up from the attack that they bundled me with.**

"**I honestly don't know how I did that." I started "After I got a few hits I could feel energy rushing round me, so I used it whilst I could." I wanted to give a better description, but yet again, I could not find the words in my mind. All three of us decided to curl up against their brother, and because his body was naturally warm I felt like it would heal me slightly faster.**

"**Hey guys! Over here! It's me!" shouted Ivy who came rushing over towards us and caused us to stand up quickly. She was followed by Jade and Dylan, walking side by side and giggling with each other. They joined our group and we sat amongst each other talking about anything we could think of, then Ivy turned to me and giggled "I watched you in your fight. You did very well." Was all she could say before she started giggling again and began talking to Nik instead. **

**I decided to talk to Cora, but she was following the other battle intensely, I looked across to see two Flareon fighting, both of them launching successive fire spins or flamethrowers. I noticed that one of them was struggling more than the other, and that one was Sae. "You can do it Sae!" Cora shouted, but knew that Sae was not going to last much longer, because the other Flareon was far too strong. I turned away, not wanting to see Sae lose and I soon found myself listening to Vesper and the Flareon sitting with her.**

"**Don't get too upset dear, you tried your hardest, and that's all you can do. I'm proud of you, and when I was your age I made it to the same stage in the tournament and I know you're disappointed now, but soon you'll see that there is nothing disappointing about making it to the final sixteen." Then she noticed me, causing me to shuffle back slightly in fear. She stood up and walked over to pick me up, where she then placed me in between herself and the Flareon "I don't believe that you two have officially met. Chima this is Shar, he is my son. Shar this is Chima, and he is Kudzu's son." She paused for a moment "Why were you listening in on Shar and I? Have you not been told that is rude?" my ears dropped as I realised what I had done was rude, but she then quickly nuzzled me "It's okay, you didn't know any better, and you wouldn't, being so young, but never do it again okay little one?" I nodded and we continued our conversation for a while until Amara approached our group.**

**She greeted all of my friends and then walked over to me, Vesper and Shar "Hello there. Are you enjoying everything so far?" she asked, looking cheerful. We all happily talked until Amara sat up quickly with her eyes wide "I don't believe it." She said as she looked past us on to the battlefield to see the same Glaceon, Margaux dispatch another Flareon with just one water pulse, but this time she looked a lot less injured than when she was up against Shar. "That girl is looking very impressive." She started and I felt a sense of déjà vu. "I think she has taken out at least three Flareons despite her disadvantage, and it's all because of that one move. Ever since she beat you Shar, she has been one of the favourites to win, and she made it into the top eight effortlessly. I would hate to be her next opponent." And soon we found out who her next opponent would be. Despite his earlier mishaps in battle, Sae had actually managed to overhaul his opponent in a last ditch effort, and it sealed him his victory. We all approached Sae, and he looked terribly beaten up already. Unfortunately for him, the final sixteen was now down to the final eight and "You're in the first battle." She stated bluntly to him, almost causing him to pass out from shock and disappointment that he wouldn't get as much rest as he would have liked.**

"**Wha!? You can't be serious, I've definitely not had enough time to heal" he whined as he reluctantly got ready for his battle with the seemingly unbeatable Margaux.**

**Amara shook her head slightly "I'm sorry, but this is how the line up has been drawn. And if you were being attacked you wouldn't ask if they could come back after you've healed. You wouldn't last if that's what you think survival includes. I think if you just watch out for her water pulse then you should be fine and you might be able to take her down after she tires a little bit." She gave her last words of encouragement before Sae stepped out onto the field, with a lot less energy than in the first round. Sae dropped his head in his bow, whereas Margaux gracefully lowered her head and lifted again with the same elegant poise.**

**Demyx signalled for them to begin and both of them fired their attacks, Sae firing a flamethrower to Margaux's powder snow, both attacks collided in the centre, but of course, the flamethrower prevailed and began to surge towards Margaux. She jumped away at the last minutes and quickly began to dash towards Sae, who groggily tried to get away, but we all knew what was going to happen next. We saw the blue orb form, we saw it grow in size, and we saw the orb make point blank contact with Sae's face, causing him to get knocked out instantly. The entire battle lasted no more than thirty seconds and lead to a disappointing finish to Sae's promising campaign.**

**I turned to look at Amara and saw that she was clearly a little bit annoyed that most of her students had been beaten by one particular Glaceon. I quickly tried to distract her attention from the subject and asked "Who am I up against?" At first she didn't even move, but then she quickly walked off, leaving me alone for a while. When she returned she looked at me nonchalantly.**

"**This one shouldn't be too bad; he scraped through his last battle, despite having the advantage. He's called Malik and he's a Glaceon." She stopped and look at me deeply "Promise me that you will win this, so that you can beat Margaux too." She pleaded.**

"**I promise that I'll try to." I said, licking her cheek. She looked at me sternly again.**

"**Seeing as all the Flareon are out, I will give you the support and analysis you will need for your upcoming battles, so listen up. Your opponent is a Glaceon" I could almost feel her get a little bit angry at saying that word "and Glaceon are weak to two of your attacks; your iron tail and your dig attack. If you score any good hits with them, then you have a high chance of being able to win. I don't think your opponent has as much energy left as you, so take advantage of your speed, but be wary, if even one ice shard hits you, you must react quickly or else you will feel the freezing effects of his attacks. I would recommend that you don't take any hits, just to make sure of your victory okay?" I looked at her and took in every word of advice.**

"**Yes, I understand." We both smiled, Amara's competitive spark had been re-ignited.**

"**Good, now all we have to do is wait for your battle." And coincidently my battle was right after the one that was currently taking place between an Umbreon and an Espeon, and it was clear that the Umbreon was going to win, due to the majority of its opponent's attacks having no effect, so the Umbreon continuously slammed into the Espeon. Finally after minutes of watching the Espeon getting pummelled into submission, she gave in and the battle stopped immediately, letting the crowd's cheers be heard to their full extent.**

**Demyx summoned the next two battlers, so I stepped out onto the field, feeling surprisingly fresh and ready. I looked down to the other end of the battlefield and saw a Glaceon that was in even worse condition than Sae was before his battle, but I didn't let confidence cloud my aims, so I slowly breathed out to calm myself down and directed a sly smile across to Amara and my friends. I bowed to Malik, who returned with his own bow. All courtesies aside, we got into position, my tail swishing in anticipation until "Begin!" was shouted from Demyx as he stepped off the field. I saw Malik launch a tired ice shard towards me as I burrowed underground and reappeared behind him to slash with an iron tail, I quickly dived back into the tunnel and carved out a new path, appearing to his far left and I charged in with a quick attack, striking him in the side. I kept Amara's advice in my mind as I made another tunnel and linked it with my initial one, giving me three different points to strike from. However, I decided to try and strike a dig attack on him, so I surfaced and landed a perfect hit on his under belly, sending him flying through the air, but I wasn't done, so I charged with a quick attack and then I swiped along his body with an iron tail. We landed at the same time, but I was standing and for obvious reasons Malik was down, and he was not getting up like Lucie did. I stood there, waiting for Malik to get up and taunt me so that I could strike another blow, but he never did, instead he whimpered and looked up at me.**

"**I can't go on, I'm too exhausted. You win" he surrendered, but looked at me with respect, and soon I was greeted by the usual cheers that Demyx would flaunt to the crowds, working them up, getting them more excited. I smiled as I sighed. I was happy with how I had sustained basically no damage in that battle. In fact, I believe that was my best battle yet. Cora, Nik, Ivy and the twins rushed over to congratulate me on my victory, all of them trying to ask me questions, but because all of them were trying, I couldn't understand what they were each saying, let alone answer the questions. **

**Demyx was still talking to the crowd "There you have it everyone. For the first time since the year our very own Kudzu won, an Eevee has made the final four in this tournament. Not only that, but it is her son. Can he succeed at an even younger age than she did, or will he be another to fall under the supreme showing of Margaux?" There was a constant whir from the crowd as they discussed who they thought would win. "With only one space in the final four left, let us welcome our final two; Palmer and Cada!" Demyx announced with almost uncontrollable excitement in his voice.**

**At first I didn't recognise Cada, but that was only because he was now a Vaporeon, so his whole size and appearance had changed, but I recognised him because of the stance he was in. It was different to all other stances, because the stance held no sense of arrogance and still kept a very strong composure. "Good luck Cada." I said as he passed by, quickly glancing at me, then smiling when he recognised me. Another Vaporeon I presumed to be Palmer walked on behind him, gingerly trying to size up his formidable opponent. Anyone could tell that he was not very confident about facing Cada in battle, and this was probably because he would have seen Cada battling in class, which from experience I could assume that he was very powerful.**

**Cada and Palmer were at opposite ends and the comparison between the two was easy to make; Cada was looking confident and ready whereas Palmer was literally shaking in fear. 'Is Cada really that scary?' I though quickly before hearing Demyx start the battle. Both Vaporeon launched their water gun attacks, and both attacks faded upon impact. However, Cada had taken the liberty of doubling his water gun with a water pulse, which did little damage to Palmer, but had its desired effect of confusing him, so Cada charged in with a quick attack and struck Palmer. He tried to swipe Cada away, but only succeeded in falling to the floor, leaving himself open for another attack. Cada jumped above him and then slammed his iron tail down on Palmer, leaving him confused and winded. He was about to go for another attack, so Palmer was sure to lose this. I felt quite bad for him because he seemed very reluctant to battle Cada anyway, and now he was literally getting pummelled by him, almost mercilessly and it almost didn't seem fair, but there was nothing I could do, so I turned my head and waited for the cheer of the crowd, signifying the end of the battle. The cheers came shortly after I turned away and my ears dropped at the thought of all the pain that Palmer had just taken.**

**Kudzu must have known that I didn't like how the battle was going, and as soon as she had found me, she came close to me and used her tail to pull me close to her like she usually did. "Sometimes" she started, thinking what to say next "sometimes things can seem unfair, but I'm afraid that on those cases you're going to have to let it go." She sighed, and I felt a bit upset from it all, so Kudzu tried to comfort me again, only cheering me up slightly, but I suppose even that was a success. I didn't know why, but I felt really distressed and upset. "I guess you'd better get ready for your next battle." Kudzu said quietly. I didn't even know who I was up against next, so I set off to find Amara and ask her who I would be battling.**

**It didn't take long for me to find her, because she was also looking for me "I've got news for you buddy." She panted. "I hate to say it, but you're gonna be up against that Glaceon, Margaux." My jaw dropped in shock, I couldn't have taken on Cada, and I could have possibly beaten the Umbreon, but there was no way I was going to be able to beat her. She had beaten three Flareon in a row despite her disadvantage. Amara shook me out of my daze "Hey! Wake up!" I shook myself quickly and looked at Amara worriedly "I know, she's very tough, but this time none of her moves are an advantage against you, so what you need to do is keep hitting her with the same moves you used on Malik until she finally goes down. However, it is even more important that you make sure each of her attacks miss you because we've all seen how much power her attacks have, and even I wouldn't like to face that power. I'll leave the quick thinking to you because you're already pretty good at that." She sighed as she finished. "Whatever happens, you won't let me down." She smiled and quickly gave me a lick on my head "Now go show her why you're in the top four." She cheered as she walked back over to the teacher's area.**

"**Excuse me" a soft voice called to me. I turned around to see that it was the Umbreon. "Hello, I know we haven't talked before, but I think that we ought to since we're both in the final four. My name is Kaia. If I'm not mistaken you are… Chima?" I nodded "Well Chima, I wish you good luck in your battle against Margaux. I guess we're both seen as the underdogs in our battles because we're against such good battlers." She sighed and looked sad at me "Oh well, we can still say that we made it to the top four." She gave a half smile, but there was no actual feeling in it, almost like she had given up already; like Palmer had. I shivered at my fresh memories of that battle. "Are you okay?" she asked.**

**I didn't know how to explain it so I simply replied "Yeah, I'm fine." We talked for a little bit more until Kaia was called up for her battle. Although she put up a good fight against Cada, it didn't take long for him to overpower her, forcing his way through to the final. I didn't watch the battle just because of Cada's previous battle. "Chima! You're needed." Demyx called, startling me. I stopped just before the battlefield and let Demyx finish his congratulations to Cada "Truly incredible work. You have shown just why you are in the final; you battle almost like a fully grown adult. We all look forward to your future endeavour in the final." Both Vaporeon bowed to the crowd, soaking up the cheers they were receiving, and then Cada turned around and walked off, already starting to get ready for his final.**

"**Good luck. I've gotta say, you are the one who's worried me most so far." Said another soft voice, although this voice seemed to show that whoever was talking was brighter than Kaia. I turned to see that it was none other than Margaux telling me good luck before what I was certain was going to be a very painful exit. She didn't seem like she was trying to be tough in front of me, and she was being nothing like I had seen her on the battlefield.**

"**You too." I chimed back "I'm actually terrified that I'm against you." I said honestly. She just looked at me and smiled, and then the inevitable happened.**

"**Aww, don't be scared. You're great at battling. You're gonna make me feel bad now." She chuckled whilst looking at me sweetly. **

**We heard Demyx begin his calling "Chima and Margaux!" he cheered as we entered the field, the crowd copying his reaction. We bowed before the match and then waited for the signal to start. This time both of us made no attempt to make eye contact. "Begin!" Demyx called and we both sprang into action; Margaux shot an ice beam and I swiftly dodged it. **

**I began to dig underground to see if I could apply the same tactic that I used on Malik against her, so I jumped out behind her, but she had expected this, so she shot another ice beam, but much to my surprise she didn't shoot it at me, instead she used it to cover up the entrance to the tunnel with a sheet of ice. I landed right next to her and she swung around, causing her to hit me with her iron tail, knocking me over. I quickly recovered and ran to what I thought was a safe distance. However, as I stopped I then felt a cold presence and I was suddenly hit with what felt like one thousand pins land on my back. My back was numb despite it being a warm day and despite my thick fur, I was cold, no, freezing. I had to react fast, but I had no time to react, because I was once again struck down by her tail.**

**I could feel her using the tail to keep me down. 'Wait! Down!' I thought and I began digging quickly until I could no longer feel her pressure on my back. I sighed until I then realised that she had used another sheet of ice to cover up the entrance to the tunnel. I resurfaced immediately, but when I jumped out I saw that the entire field had been covered in ice, which was very bad news for me. I slammed an iron tail onto a section of the ice, smashing it and giving myself somewhere to move without the risk of slipping. However, I only had a small section of the field, leaving me more stranded than a Magikarp in a desert. I closed my eyes, knowing that I was going to be hit at any moment, and I physically cringed when I was thinking that I was going to feel a whole new kind of empathy for Palmer. I was forcefully knocked down and on to the ice, causing me to slide and hit an ice block that had been formed.**

**My eyes were still closed as I winced from the pain. I felt helpless; there was almost nothing I could do in this battle now. I was on a floor where my opponent was moving at such a pace that I would struggle even if I were on normal land. My greatest asset; my quick wit, had deserted me and now all I could do was endure the hits until I finally fainted. I kept my eyes closed, so that I didn't have to watch what was incoming. Trying to find some comfort in anything I could. I knew that I couldn't win this battle and this was me practically giving up…..**

**A/N:** Hope you liked that, I've left it on edge a little bit, so I'll finish that off next chapter (I would never be so mean as to stop after leaving the story like that. I don't plan on giving up on this story anyway). I'll get the next chapter out within a week, maybe two, but not that long. Feel free to review byee until next time 


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Hello again. Here's another chapter for you I hope that you'll like it. I probably am no where near as good as some people…..make that most people, but I still have some fans maybe and that's good enough for me I do not own Pokemon, but I do own the characters in my story .

**Chapter 15**

**Chima's POV**

**I had been physically brutalised and I couldn't find any way out of the battle other than losing, but that would be too easy and I'm not one for giving up. I slowly opened my eyes to see another attack was flying towards me, and because I was on ice I stood no chance of getting away, so I waited for the impact, but no matter how much I braced myself, each hit was far too painful for me to bare and every time I was hit my energy was being dropped at a harsh rate. Lying on the floor was probably my best part of the battle, because I could get no attacks of my own to counter hers. I could hear the crowd whispering to each other various comments about my inferiority to my opponent "He stands no chance".**

"**He's too young to win against an evolution."**

**And there were even harsh comments being thrown about "How pathetic. He thinks that he's good because he's the only Eevee, but in reality he is just as weak as any other Eevee his age." Upon hearing the harsher comments my frustration grew. It seemed that even my supporters were thinking negatively of me; it was me against everyone else. 'Glory chasers' I thought harshly. I stood up from my attack again and the crowd almost groaned, predicting what the outcome of my decision was. However, I was expecting the attack to come towards me, I stood up against it with all the doubtful words plaguing my mind, but pushing me on and to everyone's shock I was able to stay standing after the full force of the attack had struck me. I was seething to the point where I could have began snarling, but I kept my emotions at bay and decided that I would try to use the surface to my advantage to try and even out the battle a little bit.**

**I found a rhythm quickly, which was good because I feared if I did not pick it up quickly then the battle would be over very soon. I had now begun to evade all of Margaux's attacks so far; knowing that if I take one more full attack then I may not be able to get up after it. I knew that Margaux had begun to give chase and was catching me up quickly, so I decided to risk everything and slow down, and just at the precise moment she pounced at me I smashed the ice ground with my iron tail and leapt into the air several feet. I looked down to see Margaux had lost her footing in her failed attempt, so I seized the opportunity to dive down onto her back at great speed, she yelped slightly in pain and in shock. I planted myself onto her back and charged up an iron tail, and I slammed the attack onto the ice type, causing her to fall on the icy surface and I quickly leapt away onto one of the solid ground patches I created earlier. Margaux was up quickly and lashed out at me with her iron tail, I retaliated with my own. The clang of our tails showed just how hard we were attacking each other; both of us were attacking at full power, just testing to see who could outlast the other. She retreated to the other side of the field to regain some energy, and this was when I noticed that large forms of ice had been emerging during the battle, so they were now protruding enough for us to use. **

**I took another risk and used a quick attack on one of them and then pushed off to reach another one; amazingly the ice was in a perfect zigzag to Margaux, so I repeated this all the way until I smashed into Margaux, stopping her recovery and immediately putting her on the back foot. The crowd was in awe, because just minutes ago I was being beaten to a pulp and now I was putting pressure on the very same opponent. She lurched forwards whilst charging a water pulse, but to my surprise I inhaled and felt the same energy from my match with Lucie invade my body and then leave, forming a dark orb which I quickly shot, saving me from a certain defeat. However, she doubled the attack with an ice beam that narrowly missed my face, but snagged the tip of my tail, which felt like I had literally shattered every little nerve cell and had torn every tissue. I gritted my teeth and endured the agony to launch another one of those dark orbs straight back at her, and it hit her left foreleg.**

**Margaux doubled over in pain, but looked up to shoot a look ferociously at me, and I returned with much the same aggression. I surged forwards on the ice, now getting used to the sliding and leaped into the air before diving straight through the ice and digging at a greater speed than I had ever gone, so fast in fact that I actually landed a critical blow on Margaux. She launched another ice beam at me quickly, and the ice beam hit my right foreleg, rendering me immobile. I let my rage consume me and in sheer desperation I shot several of the dark orbs towards Margaux whilst struggling to get out of the ice trap. Margaux was able to diminish some of the orbs and dodge all the others, she sighed in deep relief, but I wasn't done and I swung my tail to the floor to try and leap out of it. However, the hold the ice had on me was too tights and lead to me lying down hopelessly…..again. **

**I waited for her to approach, but instead I was hit with another ice beam, blinding me, which meant that her next move was inevitable, so I quickly ducked down, felling the force of her swing of the iron tail. I regained vision and saw that she was about to repeat the whole routine, and there was nothing I could do about it. I almost screamed in pain as my eyes stung, desperately trying to re adjust in time, but this time her iron tail was swinging down, so I defensively raised my own iron tail to have it smashed to the ground, showing my lack of power. However, the impact was strong enough to shatter the ice trap and I was free. I would have celebrated if I didn't get hit by an ice shard, causing me to flop to the ice and skid into another block of ice.**

**I weakly stood up, swaying slightly as I felt my legs begin to feel too tired to carry on. However, I was far too stubborn to give in now. Both of us knew that this was going to end with one of us fainting. Suddenly, the words of doubt crept into my mind, creating a new source of energy for me, but not eliminating any of the pain I was enduring. If they were going to doubt me I had an even better reason to show them otherwise. The battlefield had now begun to lose its icy cover, meaning that I would once again be the quickest, so I took advantage and began digging at the ground furiously and stopping until a crater was formed. **

**Margaux looked confused at my actions, and was so confused that she didn't even try to attack until I had dug four craters. She launched an ice shard in my direction, so I quickly launched one dark orb to counter it, and as the smoke spread for the impact I started digging again and I joined all four craters in the centre underground. Margaux absentmindedly walked in the middle of the four craters, so I decided to jump out of one of the holes causing her to fire another ice shard, but I evaded quickly by diving into one of the other holes. When I leapt out of the third hole, Margaux was facing away, so I quickly whacked her with an iron tail and then dove back into another hole. By this point Margaux was screaming in frustration as I swiftly leapt from hole to hole, launching attacks that were hitting her. I was feeling really confident and as I leapt out I shot another dark orb striking a crippling blow.**

**However, to my surprise, when I next leapt above the surface I didn't see Margaux anywhere, so I decided to walk into the middle. Big mistake. The moment I turned back I was frozen by an ice beam. The block encasing me was shattered and I was left gasping for air until I was then swiped away by her tail. Margaux brought her face close to mine, and I immediately knew what was going to happen as I caught sight of a tiny blue orb, slowly growing in size. I couldn't force myself to move, almost hypnotised by the growing orb. She grinned to herself when the orb reached its maximum size and then winked at me before firing it at point blanc range, causing me to sail several metres through the air until I crashed to the ground. I was truly exhausted and hurting everywhere, but somehow I managed to force myself to my paws.**

**The whole crowd gasped in disbelief that I could take such a beating and still stand. However, there was nothing I could do to stop her next iron tail and soon I found myself on the floor, before everything was starting to go green, then purple, then blue until finally I blacked out. I had lost a hard fought match, and had lost in the most painful way, and at the same time, I felt no disappointment, although I knew that I soon would once I woke up.**

**Whilst I was unconscious I had no dreams, I had nothing. I stood in nothing and I looked around to see nothing. However, I could still see myself and I was slightly surprised that my body was fully healed, although it wasn't my actual body. I tried to gather my surroundings, but how could I in a world complete with nothing? This place was confusing me, and soon I was getting a bit scared because I was all alone and I didn't have anyone to at least talk with me.**

**Soon I began to hear voices, and found that the place with nothing was beginning to disappear as I felt my consciousness being dragged back to the real world. I groggily opened my eyes to see a very worried Kudzu, Amara and I even saw that Vesper, Nik and Cora were with me. Kudzu sobbed and began to smile slightly when she saw that I was waking up "Oh thank Arceus you're okay now. I was worried that you would never wake up." She cried.**

"**Come on, it was never that serio-" Amara said, but was shushed by Vesper, noting that now was not the time. "I think that we'd better leave you to rest up, both of you." Amara said, gesturing for everyone to leave with her, leaving Kudzu and I by ourselves. **

**Kudzu smiled gently at me, the wet patches of fur around her eyes still heavily evident "How are you feeling now?" she asked. I tried to get up and walk over to her, but as soon as I tried to, my leg muscles tensed up and forced me to lie down again.**

"**I don't think I can walk." I moaned, causing Kudzu to look deeply at me.**

"**I'm not surprised; the battle you put up against Margaux was incredible. However, she did manage to outlast you, but I am extremely proud of you! My little star." She nuzzled me softly.**

"**How long have I been like this?" I asked.**

"**For at least a quarter of the day." She replied. I was shocked; the battle had obviously punished my body, forcing me to take it to extremes that I had never reached, so I guess it was only natural that I was out for so long.**

"**Who won?" I quickly asked, remembering that Cada had to battle her now that I had lost to her.**

"**The young Vaporeon Cada won. He made it look easy, but I think that's because you had worn out poor Margaux. Cada and Margaux say get well soon by the way." She smiled and nuzzled me again. "Now go to sleep, you will need all the rest you can get for your body to recover." She demanded quietly, and I happily complied.**

**Amara's POV**

**I couldn't believe it. In one day so much had happened. Most of my top students had been taken out by Margaux which was very upsetting because I was sure that at least one of them would make the last four at least, but each one that she was up against, she knew how to deal with them with ease. However, when it came to battling Chima, she found it far more difficult, despite the fact that she had battered him in the early stage of the battle. For some reason Chima had been able to keep on standing up and fighting back and I think that is why it was so tiring for both of them. Margaux had obviously been exhausted from the battle, because to everyone's shock she went down after one hit against Cada. **

**I congratulated Cada on his championship win and wished him the best of luck for the future and all of the guild did the same except for Kudzu because she and Vesper's group went back to her home to make sure Chima recovered, although they did watch the battle to see their victor. I couldn't help but admire how far Chima made it in the depth of this year's competition; he got past so many tough opponents and managed to get into the final four, if it wasn't for Margaux and Cada then no one would have been thought stupid for thinking he was going to win.**

"**Another year for the young ones done." Devin smiled at the remaining guild members. "I guess we'd better get ready for the adult tournament. We don't want to let Kudzu win again." He chuckled.**

**Taphyn joined in with the laughter "How many years has it been now? Three maybe four since someone else last won it. I think that we need to at least get someone else into the final, because every year Kudzu won it's been Amara or myself in the final." The rest of the guild glared at me and Taphyn, almost blaming us that we beat them. "H-hey, no fair guys. You can't blame us for beating you. It's at least three moons away, so you have time to get better." He winked at them, defending both of us.**

"**Demyx I'm going to visit Kudzu to see how Chima is doing. I'll be back just before it is dark." I told him and he nodded, and then returned to talking with the guild. I began to walk away to Kudzu's home.**

"**Wait up, I wanna go to." Taphyn called, chasing after me. "He did pretty amazing didn't he?" he said as we began walking past the forest scenery. "It's been so long since an Eevee made it that far. I almost couldn't believe it when he got through to the last four. I mean who would've thought that-" I interrupted him quickly.**

"**I know, I heard you saying all of this to Devin, Luctis, Avo…..in fact, I've heard you tell nearly everyone." I chuckled and smiled at him.**

**He smiled back and rolled his eyes "Yeah I know, but you can't deny how amazing an achievement that is. The last time was when you and Kudzu were still Eevee. However, let's not forget that you los-" this time he was chuckling as I interrupted him again.**

"**Yeah yeah, I lost to a Jolteon and Kudzu beat an Espeon. It doesn't mean anything now, Kudzu and I would never battle each other when we were younger anyway." I defended myself briskly and began to walk quicker.**

**Sensing that he had upset me, he caught up with me "Sorry, I don't know why I was saying that. Maybe it was out of jealousy that I never did as well as you. I guess I took it too far this time, I'm really sorry. Please forgive me." He looked at me pleadingly, and despite the sun starting to set I could see his eye twinkle in the reflection of the remaining sparkle of light. I had already forgiven him at this point, but I decided that it would be more fun to let him assume that I didn't, so I pouted and pointed my nose up and then carried on walking at the pace.**

**I could see that Taphyn was upset and thought that I no longer liked him. "Hey come on! I didn't mean it Amara, you know I wouldn't do anything to upset you seriously. It was only a joke, honest!" this was all I could bare of his apology, and I began to cackle manically. I stopped and started to roll on the floor from laughter 'Haha, I'm s-s-sorry, it's just that you're face is just too precious' is what I tried to say, but was clearly gibberish to Taphyn. "Why are you laughing!? Tell me why." He was pleading "Oh, I see." He said, with a hint of mischief in his voice. "You were just teasing me; how do you like this?" he laughed and then I was hit by a soft ice beam, which wasn't strong enough to hurt.**

"**Hey that was uncalled for." I smiled cheekily at him and then gently attack him with an ember that was too weak to do any damage even to him and we both laughed at our mock attacks. We continued to attack each other for several minutes.**

"**Hey! Watch it; you wouldn't want to wake him would you?" Kudzu demanded. Both Taphyn and I realised that whilst we were playfully battling each other, we had reached Kudzu's home and I nearly set it alight. I breathed a sigh of relief as the flicker's reach was just too short and it sank to the ground until it died out. 'That was too close' I thought and Taphyn looked at me as if he knew what I was thinking, causing both of us to laugh. "I don't know what you two are laughing about, but if you're going to come in be a little quieter." She said sternly, so we walked in trying our absolute hardest not to break into another fit of laughter.**

"**How did you know we were outside?" I asked.**

"**How could I not know? I was making sure that he was sleeping, and then I heard some noise and then I saw you two pests shouting and attacking each other." She huffed, clearly not happy.**

**I padded up to her cautiously "Come on, we didn't know, honestly. We only realised we were at your home when you stopped us." I smiled at Kudzu, hoping she would stop being angry at us.**

"**Kudzu, you know we wouldn't have done so otherwise." Taphyn added. We both looked at Kudzu expectantly, and soon she changed her facial expression to show that she had calmed down now. We all sat down at the entrance and began to talk about various little things, but soon we were talking about battling styles and comparing all the different ones that we had seen today. One style that we had seen most frequently was waiting for the opponent to attack, which was always funny when you would see two battler waiting for the other to make the first move, because they would twitch and attack at any movement they detect. To me, that just wasn't a proper battling style, but if they wanted to battle like that then I wouldn't stop them. However, Kudzu would wait for the attack and then strike back twice as hard, and then Taphyn wouldn't do either tactic; instead he would keep dodging all the attacks he could until he struck at his opponents most vulnerable moment, which made him all the more dangerous than most others, although if you got him quick enough then he would be easier, but all of us were great battlers, maybe even the greatest our clan had ever seen. Even in the guild, we were the three exceptional battlers; Demyx wouldn't need to battle because he can talk himself out of anything, but I he had to battle then he was the next best along with Devin.**

**I noticed that the sun had almost vanished and it was now getting darker, so I had to leave to stay true to my word. "I've got to go now, I'll see you tomorrow Kudzu." I said, gesturing for Taphyn to leave as well.**

"**I'll stay a little while longer actually" he smirked, causing me to frown a little at him.**

"**Okay, but don't forget that you are on duty tomorrow….both of you." I muttered the last part, hoping that Taphyn would have to tell her, but alas her hearing was too sharp and she did hear.**

**Her eyes snapped wide open "What!? When was this said? Do you think I can leave my little kit in his current state? I don't think so. I can't do it!" she argued, but still kept her voice quiet so that she didn't wake Chima.**

**I looked Kudzu in the eyes and held a serious face "You have to do it. Demyx and I will look after him. I am the next best one to trust, and you know that I wouldn't do anything wrong. You can't take him with you and you have to go, so you either let me look after him or leave him by himself. If I were you I would choose the former because I can't imagine a kit waking up alone is going to go down to well. I don't want to sound harsh, but that is the reality of it." I said bluntly. Kudzu looked at me sorrowfully.**

**I could see that my words nearly brought her to tears, which nearly killed me because I hated being like that, so harsh and cold, but I was told to tell her that she had to go no matter what. "Okay." She said glumly "I understand, but only you and Demyx. No one else?" she asked and I shook my head "Fine then. I guess this means I owe you now." She stated, but I shook my head again and then turned, swished my tail and left for my home.**

**I rushed back to find Demy was already asleep, so I curled up close to him and watched the stars come into view, it was a beautiful sight and I couldn't help but just watch as the day's transition gracefully began to replace the sun with the sight of a silvery moon. Even if I wasn't an Umbreon I could still admire the beauty that the night sky was filled with; not only beauty, but there was also mystery because no one knew what could be beyond the stars, and that was what made them so amazing to me. All I had to do was wait as more and more stars would come into view.**

**Kudzu's POV**

"**Why was she in such a rush?" I asked Taphyn and he shrugged. "Anyway, why did you want to stay?" he looked at me and then looked away quickly, as if he was trying to work out what to say.**

**He then looked at me again and smiled at me "Just looked like you could do with some company, because no one likes to be lonely, right?" he said and then turned away again. I was a little bit suspicious because he had never acted this way before.**

"**I suppose so." I chuckled, trying to return the good mood. "Can you believe the day we've all had? I feel worn out and I didn't do any of the battling." I chuckled again, and saw that a small smile was starting to emerge from Taphyn too.**

"**I know exactly how you feel." He laughed, "But you did have to heal everyone." He pointed out, but when he said it I could've sworn that I saw the slightest of blushes on his face, but I shook it off as nothing.**

**I looked at him closely, trying to see what was wrong with him, but I couldn't find anything "Healing doesn't require a lot of energy, and I was in the sun, so I was just gaining energy by standing there, it was as if I wasn't giving energy at all." I smiled to make sure he didn't suspect anything, but I knew that something was up. I was just trying to find out.**

**His tail was swishing nervously and he couldn't concentrate his eyes on anything for to long, and he seemed to be very alert and occasionally perking his ears up, then he turned to face me and looked oddly nervous "Seeing as we're working together tomorrow…" he paused and looked down at his paws, shuffling them as he began to speak again "maybe I could stay here tonight." He mumbled, and even I struggled to hear him properly.**

"**I didn't quite get that. Can you say it again?" I asked and he flushed a deep red, even through his light blue fur the blush was very obvious, but for his sake I ignored it so that I didn't embarrass him. **

**He began again, but this time he closed his eyes despite the fact he was looking at the floor "Could I stay here tonight?" he said quickly.**

"**Oh Taphyn o-" I was interrupted by Taphyn, who was now looking upset and disappointed.**

"**It's okay, I understand. It was only if you'd let me, and I thought that it would be more convenient, but really, it's okay." He stuttered, trying to cover up his lie. I felt sorry for him though.**

**I waited for him to calm down "Taphyn, I was going to say that you can stay here tonight. You're right it would be more convenient, and would mean that we could get straight to work and get it done quicker, so yeah, you can stay. However, you're gonna have to cope with sleeping next to me and Chima. I warn you now, he kicks." I winked at him and upon hearing this Taphyn's expression changed rapidly to a content smile "But before I had the chance to tell you this, you started blathering on about how it's okay that I haven't let you, even though you didn't even let me answer." I continued, making him blush again; I was confused 'why is he blushing so much? I don't wanna be rude and tell him that I have noticed, but it is a little weird' I thought about all the possibilities, but I disagreed with all of them.**

**I led him back into my home and let him get comfortable next to Chima. Chima shivered the moment Taphyn laid down next to him, waking him up and he began to cry, so I quickly get on the other side of Chima and held him closely, which seemed to calm him down a little bit. Taphyn's ears lowered a little bit when he saw Chima's reaction "Don't worry." I said "He's still very young, and kits his age would usually react like that." Then I made sure that Chima couldn't hear and whispered to Taphyn "Between you and me, he is a bit of a cry baby too." I giggled and then smiled at the Eevee below me, still sobbing a little bit "There there." I cooed "You know Taphyn. He will be sleeping over here tonight, because both of us will be working tomorrow." I softly nuzzled him.**

"**Am I going with you?" he asked, sounding interested as he began to stop sobbing and look at me with his large brown eyes.**

**I softly smiled at him "I am afraid not. You will be looked after by Amara and Demyx tomorrow, so I expect you to be on your best behaviour for them. That means no biting, no scratching and definitely no being rude to them. Not that I expect you to do any of that anyway, because I know you wouldn't want to let me down." I nuzzled him again and he nuzzled back.**

"**I promise that I will be good." He said proudly, sitting up straight now, he looked very cute trying to be impressive, even when he was sitting up straight he was barely as tall as me and Taphyn lying down. "Sorry mister Taphyn." He said and Taphyn then looked at me.**

"**There's no need to be sorry. I should have been more careful I guess." He smiled at Chima and then put his head down to go to sleep.**

**Chima was now looking restless, but I had to go to sleep because I had to work the next day, and this meant that I had to try and get a tireless kit tired somehow. I was trying to think of a way 'Running him around is too risky at night time. Running him around inside, there is too little amount of space. He won't calm down by talking and I'm not going to make him cry to make him go to sleep because that's just cruel. I could ask him to, but I doubt he'll be able to.' I groaned. "Is everything okay?" Taphyn asked. I was frowning to myself until I finally answered with a nod "Are you sure? It's not like you to be frowning over nothing, that's something I'd expect from Amara." He joked, turning my frown to a smile "That's better. Please don't frown again, it doesn't suit you." He blushed again, and this time he caused me to blush from his comment.**

"**I'm hungry." Chima whined.**

"**It's too late to be eating anything Chima. You must be tired." I said to him, if he had food, then he would get more energy, then I would never get any sleep and then I would be too tired to work properly, so it was just asking for trouble.**

**Unsurprisingly, Chima continued to whine incessantly "I can't get to sleep. I'm not tired. I am starving, honestly I really am starving." This was enough to annoy me.**

**I held him closer to me despite his protests, but his squirming and wriggling soon got him out of my hold. He then began to walk over to where the food was. "Don't even think about it." I warned, but he was not listening; he searched through the various berries and then picked one out, a Chesto berry, possibly the one I least wanted him to have. "No!" I snapped, causing him to jump and try to frantically search for a place to hide. "I said you're not having anything, so just go back to sleep." He looked scared at me; he was frozen in place as I picked up the berry and placed it back to where it should be.**

"**I don't wanna go to sleep." He quietly protested and I quickly turned to him and glared sharply towards him, but I couldn't hold the face any longer than the time it took for him to start crying in fear. "P-please don't hurt me." He whimpered.**

**I sighed and then went back to the berries and picked out another berry and placed it in front of Chima, he looked up at me, still scared, but also confused. "Go on, if you really need something to eat, then eat it, but promise me that you will try to get some sleep when you're done, okay?" he then reached out and quickly snatched away the berry and nervously took a bite into it, before finally eating it at his usual speed. When he had finished he walked up to me and began to nuzzle at my leg.**

**He looked up at me "Sorry." He said, his voice still containing a hint of fear. I sighed and picked him up, and then I carried him to our bed, where Taphyn was fast asleep I laid down and kept Chima close to me, so that he wouldn't get too cold from Taphyn's body. I could tell that he was still awake because he was occasionallu twitching or moving his head in my grasp, but he was trying to get to sleep. He turned around so that he placed his body against mine; he buried his face into my chest and finally began to drift off to sleep. I thanked Arceus when he finally fell asleep because I could then do the same, so I quickly let myself embrace the warm, welcoming arms of sleep.**

**Taphyn's POV**

**I was in a field with Kudzu and Chima. We were watching Chima run around without showing any signs of tiring and both were laughing with each other. When Chima did finally stop, he came over to us and Kudzu nuzzled him, whilst I quickly went to get some of our food. When I came back I saw both of them waiting happily. I sat down and place the food in between the three of us; making sure Chima had the correct sized portion Kudzu and I quickly grabbed our portion, but Chima didn't moan or whine, instead he just ate his food and then waited for us to finish. When Kudzu finished, she gestured for him to get closer and he did until he was lying down just in front of Kudzu, in between her paws. He closed his eyes as she began to clean him until his coat of fur was shining again, and once she was finished she let Chima dash around the field. **

**Kudzu looked at me and smiled sweetly, she then gestured for me to sit next to her and I happily obliged. "Thank you for today." She said whilst blushing a little bit. "I'm so glad to be able to get outside and let Chima run around, it's good for all of us. We needed it so much." I looked into her eyes and she did the same. She then looked away, still blushing deeply "You know, I've been thinking and I've come to realise something."**

"**What might that be?" I asked expectantly.**

**She then looked down to her paws "Well, I think I'm…. I'm…..oh never mind, it doesn't matter anyway." She shook her head as she was saying this.**

"**Come on, you know you can tell me. You know I won't judge you." I smiled and nuzzled her gently, I almost felt her nuzzle back, but she resisted and then looked away.**

**Her tail was swishing as she was watching Chima run carelessly through the field. "I think I'm falling for you Taphyn." She said quickly, my heart fluttered and I was left speechless, she turned to see me and then quickly turned back "I knew I shouldn't have said anything." She cried "If I said nothing then we could still be friends, but now I've screwed everything up. I'm sorry, you can leave if you want now, and I wouldn't blame you. I knew that no one could love me anyway, so it's okay." She screamed in between sobs. **

**I walked up to her and nuzzled her gently; she put her head to my neck and nuzzled it, still crying loudly. "Kudzu, look at me." I said, and she stopped what she was doing and raised her head to face me, although I could tell how uncomfortable she was feeling "Please don't cry, it doesn't make me feel very good when you do, especially if I'm the reason. I didn't say no, I was just speechless. I didn't know what to say, because I had no idea that you had these feeling for me, so please forgive me, and forgive me for answering this late, but I have the same feelings about you. Every moment I have of living I want to spend with you, I would take a fire blast for you, I would sacrifice anything to be with you, and you don't know how long I've had to wait for this. You have made my day so much more perfect than it already was." We nuzzled each other again and this time she was the one to stop me.**

"**How am I going to explain this to Chima? I know he likes you, but I don't know if he'll understand any of this." She began to worry. I nuzzled her again and shushed her softly.**

**I then pulled away and looked her in her radiant, glimmering eyes "I'm sure he'll love it. He'll love having a new dad right?" I said causing her to smile "It will also mean that you won't have to always watch for him. I will do that as well." I smiled back. I then felt myself leaning towards her, it was almost as if I was being possessed, but I knew it was my body telling me what to do. I noticed that Kudzu was doing the same; our lips were moving closer to each other's.**

**Then I woke up and looked around to see that I was in Kudzu's home, lying next to Chima and Kudzu. I sighed, 'Another dream with the same storyline.' I thought to myself. This was possibly the fourth or fifth time I had the same dream though, and it was starting to affect how I acted towards her. I knew that it was impossible to even try to get Kudzu to have the same feelings for me, but I would still try and blindly hope for the impossible to happen. I was too afraid to say anything about it to her or anyone else for that matter. It's true, I was scared, but then I also told myself that if I didn't ask her then there was still a chance, and that was better than knowing she had no interest. So I was still clinging to the hope that she would realise her feelings for me. I had been through all the different scenarios in my head many times, and all of them were no more than a distant dream, but as long as no one knew, I could still hope for the dream to become reality.**

**The sun had started to rise and I noticed that Kudzu was beginning to stir, also causing Chima to stir as well. Kudzu opened her eyes and looked directly at me "Good morning." She smiled, but soon her smile turned to a frown "Are you alright? You look a little bit upset."**

"**Yeah, I'm fine, I just got up a little earlier than I usually do." I smiled, trying to hide my lie. Kudzu didn't seem convinced though.**

"**Are you sure? You were looking like that last night as well." She gestured to all of me. I just shook my head and smiled.**

"**I tell you what, in two days how about the three of us go to the open field? My treat, and my way of saying thank you for letting me stay here the night." I smiled, hoping that Kudzu would agree, so that I could live the moment in my dream.**

**She smiled at me "That sounds like a good idea to me. What do you have in mind?" I didn't know how to answer, so I winked at her.**

"**You'll see." I replied "I think that you-" I was interrupted by Chima wailing a little bit, complaining that he was hungry again, so I stopped "Do you want me to get you some water as well?" I asked him and he nodded quickly, smiling childishly. I fetched anything I could find to contain the water and came back within minutes of retrieving water. I saw that Chima had finished his food and was patiently waiting for me to arrive, when he saw me he began to walk around me and wait for me to put down the container so he can drink the water inside it. **

**I placed it down, but he didn't drink any, instead he looked at me as if I still needed to do something. Then I remembered, he must have wanted me to make the water colder, so I gently blew onto it, making the surface ripple smoothly. Immediately after I stepped away, he began to lap up the water at considerable speed until he stopped, stood back and then closed his eyes and began straining as the cold water began to affect him as he got a brain freeze from the cold water. Once it had subsided he began to drink it again, but this time he was much slower and more careful so that he didn't get brain freeze again. "I think it's time we took you to Amara and Demyx, I told them that they would need to be up at dawn so they could get ready for your arrival." She chimed to him "Do you remember what you need to do?" at this Chima sat up straight and looked at Kudzu.**

"**I must be on my best behaviour for Amara and Demyx, which means no biting and no being rude. I know see." He smiled, feeling proud of his memory.**

"**And no scratching." Kudzu added, and then nuzzled him softly whilst purring, both of them shared the moment for a few more seconds until they broke apart "I don't think that you would do any of those things anyway. You're far too good, and you wouldn't want to upset anyone." She said proudly.**

**We began to walk out when I noticed that Chima was walking close to me, rather than closer to Kudzu. I looked across at Kudzu "I think he like you more than you think." She said to me whilst looking down at Chima and smiling at him. It was clear that he was still tired because he didn't even listen to Kudzu say that.**

**He stopped and groggily sat down. "I need to be carried." He yawned, so Kudzu walked over to him to pick him up "No, I want mister Taphyn to carry me." He protested. Kudzu looked at me and then stepped back to let me pick him up. I didn't know why, but for some reason Chima was becoming more attached to me. **

**As we walked Kudzu and I were admiring the forest as the early morning sun shimmered through the gaps of the trees, making the floor scattered between shade and sun and already the summer breeze was blowing softly on our fur. I didn't even notice that Chima had gone back to sleep. Kudzu had walked ahead of me, but stopped when we came to a familiar clearing, and this meant that we were only a couple more minutes from Amara and Demyx's home. Kudzu was standing at the edge of the clearing and the sun was shining down on her, she looked angelic and indescribably beautiful, and when she smiled I nearly dropped Chima in awe of her beauty. The sun's rays were making her tan fur shine brightly and her eyes were shining even brighter than usual. To make the picture complete, he leaf tail and ears were poised so elegantly, there was no way I was good enough for her, so I carried on walking. **

**When we arrived, Amara and Demyx were waiting and seemed to be wide awake. I placed Chima on the ground and he was soon grabbed by Demyx who walked inside to place Chima on their bed. "Thank you so much Amara. I wouldn't be able to live without you." Kudzu said as she embraced her friend**

**Amara jokingly blushed "Aww, it's no problem, you know I would do anything for you." She smiled and looked at me "This is strange, you're actually ready on time. What gives?" she giggled.**

"**He slept over at my home last night because we both thought it would be more convenient and it would mean we could get finished earlier." Kudzu said for me.**

**Amara looked at me and then to Kudzu, and then back at me "Okay, sure that's what it was about." She teased "Now go on, your duty doesn't do its own work. Off you go lovers." She teased again as we turned to walk away, both of us blushing beat red.**

**A/N:** That's all for that chapter, I thank you guys for reading it this far. I hope that you'll continue to read it and hopefully enjoy it too. I have what is a big plan to me for the next chapter, it will hopefully seem pretty big to you to. Anyway, please review, I will update within a week or two again. Byee 


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Hello again. Here's another chapter for you guys. I hope you enjoy it. I don't own Pokemon, but I do own the characters in the story. Here you go!

**Chapter 16**

**Amara's POV**

**I have no idea why, but I think I was more excited than Chima, because I had a plan. I would be looking after him like I said I would, but I also planned to take Chima to the geyser field, despite Kudzu's objections previously. I had told her that I would wait until he was older, and I had stayed true to my words, he was older….by just over a week. **

**Demyx and I sat next to each other, just watching Chima sleep so peacefully, he was adorable and I envied Kudzu. "Perhaps he should meet Frost as well?" Demyx questioned, but I couldn't stop watching Chima to answer him properly, so I nodded. Kudzu was so lucky to have him, to care for him; I wished that I could have him, but at the same time I was glad it was Kudzu looking after him, because she has always been very caring towards the young ones, and now she has her own kit, she can show that care openly.**

**But I had the whole day to look after him and couldn't wait to let him have a little bit of fun, because I knew that where we were going was fun, even for an adult like myself. Going to the geyser fields allowed me to act as if I was a kit again and no one would care if I did. I remember when I went there with friends and we would try to dodge them as they spurted above the ground; everyone enjoyed themselves there, even Kudzu, although she never likes to admit it.**

**When Chima began to wake up his eyes flicked open quickly and he then realised where he actually was "Where is she? Where's mummy?" he stammered, his little body shaking, but when he saw me he calmed down, much to my relief. "Miss Amara, why am I here?" he asked me.**

"**Kudzu had to work today, so she's left me in charge of looking after you." I smiled**

"**I have also been trusted to look after you." Demyx added.**

**Chima began shaking again, but this time it wasn't through fear or despair. "Why is it so cold?" he whined and I wrapped around him. Despite the bright sunlight, it was actually cold and there was a cool breeze outside, making it feel even colder. However, because of my body heat I didn't really notice it, because I would automatically raise my body temperature if it got colder. Soon I had warmed Chima up again and he was no longer shaking and seemed to relax into my warm body, I shook him to keep him awake. The only other way of getting him warm would be running him around, so the best thing to do is take him to the geyser fields, it would be warm there anyway.**

"**Come on, I have somewhere to show you." I chimed excitedly. I stood up and waited for Chima to do the same; he got up steadily and then stretched himself out and then walked to my side. We began to leave, although we slowed a little bit when Chima felt the effects of the frosty air.**

"**Where do you think you're going?" Demyx called with a blunt tone and a hard face to show he was being serious.**

**I quickly began to laugh nervously "Oh, we're going for a quick walk." I smiled, trying to hide my nerves. Demyx looked at me for a long time with a serious face.**

**Then he started to show a faint smile "Where might you be going on this 'walk'?" he asked inquisitively. Then he started to laugh a little bit "I know where you're going." I frowned at him, but before too long it turned into a smirk as I tried to hold back my own laughter.**

"**Do you really? Please, go ahead, enlighten me to your thoughts." I teased. Demyx got up and walked beside me; brushing his tail against mine, the cool scales quickly making me feel colder, but not uncomfortable, more like a gentle summer breeze gracefully brushing past my fur, giving me a small feeling of relief.**

**He stopped and faced me, looking directly into my eyes "You're going to take him to the geyser fields aren't you?" I looked away quickly and nodded "Well then, I guess we'd better get ready." I jolted up when I heard this.**

"**I- uh, you don't have to come along, I know you don't like it there." I joked, but I knew that I now had to go with both of them, not that I really minded, because Demyx was one of the most fun Pokemon when it came to playing in the geyser fields, and he would also be great at looking after Chima at any point I decided to not look after him and leave the responsibility to Demyx. He was very good at that; letting me pass the responsibilities to him, and he didn't seem to mind either.**

**Demyx stood up straight and followed us out "It's still very early. Are you sure the geysers will be good enough?" he asked.**

**I grinned and didn't say anything. The geyser fields were always much better whenever I would bother to go early on in the day, because it is quieter and usually the steam and water jets go higher, so I already knew that there would be plenty of geysers for Chima, Demyx and I to use. Despite the fact that it's water, I don't mind it, because the heat weighs it out, and Demyx has taught me how to resist water at least a little better. **

**Demyx noticed me grinning and just left his question behind as we walked on our way. Chima was skipping along in between us and watching every one of my steps as he tried to mimic my pace 'Is this what he's like around Kudzu?' I asked myself and then smiled at him even though he wasn't looking 'Cute' I giggled in my mind. Although I'm not an Espeon I could still tell what Demyx was thinking. "Kudzu won't know" I assured him; he looked at me shocked and then rolled his eyes "and even if she did find out, she can't do anything about it. What's done is done right?" I beamed at him.**

"**Right" he replied half heartedly; he hated breaking someone's trust and it would make him feel guilty, but luckily for him I was almost opposite the to him. I would keep his guilt away and make sure he actually had fun rather than letting his guilt eat away at him, and I guess that was another reason we get on so well. **

**The route to the geyser fields is very simple; it's literally a straight line. This is because Demyx and I made our home directly facing towards them and because both of us are guild members no one would argue with our decision, although it was no trouble anyway. As we all approached the last stretch to the first sight of the geysers I suddenly felt light headed and then noticed that I was now hovering with the other two. When they noticed they shared a worried reaction, until Demyx suddenly began to smirk. "You can let her go now." He said to no one, I was becoming more and more confused. "Come on, you're freaking her out now." He ordered and soon I found myself being lowered to the ground. When my paws planted to the ground I just stood there panting, staring at my paws, and almost wanting to kiss the ground.**

"**Who and what the heck was that!?" I yelled, causing Chima to run and hide behind Demyx. He walked up to me and nuzzled me until I had calmed down. However, before I could apologise to Chima for being so aggressive in front of him, we saw him floating like I was.**

**Demyx was trying to hold back a laugh at the panicked kit "Okay, that's enough now. You've had your fun." He said weakly trying to not laugh. He turned and looked at me "Have you worked it out yet?" and then it dawned on me what was going on; there was only one pokemon who could be behind this.**

**All of us directed our heads towards the sound of laughing coming from inside one of the bushes "Okay, I'll come out now, but your face was so funny Amara, I've never seen you so scared." Giggled the all too familiar voice of Luctis. As she walked out from the bush, her violet fur was gently gleaming in the morning sun. Chima was still floating and was brought down to her side. He appeared even more shaken than I did, so she nuzzled him "It's okay, it was only a little bit of fun. I didn't mean any harm." She cooed to the shaken kit. His ears drooped slightly after that and he had his eyes closed for a short while. 'I know that look.' I giggled to myself. Luctis was telepathically talking to Chima and it seemed to be calming him down. She picked him up and walked over to me and Demyx. "Where might you two be taking this kit?" she asked and cocked her head to the side.**

**Demyx opened his mouth to speak, but I was too quick "Well we're just taking him for a walk, because I haven't been able to relax for a long time, and because we're looking after him we thought it would be nice if he joined us. We're like his second family I suppose." I smiled at Luctis.**

**She smiled back and then her gem started shining a little bit 'I know that you don't go for walks to relax. I know that to unwind, you go to the geyser field.' She knew that I was lying to her 'I don't think it's what Kudzu would want you to do.' She lowered her head at me. "We'll be fine Luctis. I won't let him get hurt, and I know Demyx wouldn't either. The only thing we actually need to worry about is Kudzu working with Taphyn." I teased and Luctis looked at me in curiosity "Oh, you don't know? If you see Kudzu with Taphyn, they are obviously made for each other right? Well, I think that they're finally getting closer to each other. Even if they won't admit it." I was grinning at Luctis and she was starting to smile a little bit too. 'That should be interesting.' "Yeah, I hope it works out for them. They are perfect for each other." I paused. "What were you doing here anyway?" I asked 'I was simply enjoying a quiet stroll until I saw you three and I decided I was going to have a bit of fun.' She smiled at me innocently.**

"**Excuse me." Demyx joined "I don't mean to be rude, but we have a restless kit here, so can we please get going." He said, growing impatient of our conversation. I exchanged a goodbye with Luctis and she then walked across to the other side of the stretched path until she disappeared. I watched her until Demyx started walking again, so I followed behind until I caught up. "I'm sorry," He said "but I couldn't understand what you two were talking about, so I couldn't join in. And then I also had Chima whining to me about how we needed to go because he was bored. That's the point where I don't find him sweet." He moaned. **

**I looked at him grumpily "It's not his fault. He isn't the only one that would be like that you know." I defended Chima "I was like that too." Demyx frowned a little bit at me and unnerved me a little bit "What's with the staring? And why are you so moody today?" he then looked away, but his facial expression remained the same.**

"**Do you know how many of our friends have been asking about us?" he asked "When they ask about us, they are only asking if we're having kits. Why does everyone feel like we need to? Why is there so much pressure to start a family?" he asked himself whilst getting himself even angrier.**

**I tried to put on a soft tone "No one is pressuring us to. They're just wondering; that's all. I'm not convinced that everyone thinks we need to. Just because we're together, doesn't mean that we need to start a family straight away. I think before we can think of that, we'll have to get good at looking after Chima as well." I teased and finally brought him to a small smile. Once again I had managed to calm him down; sometimes it would have taken much longer to calm him down. Being the most popular member of the clan sometimes puts him under a lot of stress, which sometimes he can't handle to well, so I am there for him when he needs me.**

**Luctis's POV**

**I couldn't help but giggle at my encounter with Amara, Demyx and Chima. The poor little kit didn't know what to do when I was holding him, so I had to calm him down, he was on the edge of tears, which is never good for someone his age, because once they start, they never stop. **

**I was walking through the forest to meet up with Frost, despite his mysterious background, I had grown to like him; he was very stubborn and hard headed, but once I got past that he was actually quite sweet and thoughtful. I knew that he was actually a human, but his claim of being from another world altogether made him different to most humans, so I couldn't see him as a mindless human who would only think of Pokemon as beneath him, no, because of his mindset, I could show him all the great things about being pokemon, so that he wouldn't get taken in by the thought that we are below humans.**

**However, as I was walking past some of the taller trees in our forest I could feel another presence there, with me, but I couldn't tell who it was, the psychic energy around its body was like a Jolteon's, but there was something synthetic about it, something was not real, or didn't feel natural about it. Just as I was about to call out for the being, it stepped out in front of me. It looked like a Jolteon from every angle, but I still wasn't convinced. It was an intruder, but I couldn't prove to anyone. "Hello." It said excitedly "You're the only guild member I haven't met yet, since the meeting anyway." The Jolteon was a she, and she sounded extremely humble and honoured that she was talking to me. She got up from bowing at me and then shot me a look with her purple eyes. 'I also know how to use telepathy' her voice sneered telepathically 'I know that you don't think I'm a Jolteon, and there is a reason for that. I have not been a Jolteon all my life, and I have never been an Eevee, although I could be if I wanted to…actually, that would be fun. It really would be nice to see through the eyes of your young and see how they get treated….Anyway, there is a reason, but if I show you, you are not allowed to tell anyone.' She sounded quite childish, but serious at the same time so I nodded even though I was now more confused than before. 'Before I show you, what do you know about Kudzu's kit? I've seen the way you act when anyone mentions it. Your thoughts become harder to read, almost like you're trying to hide something.' I was shocked, how could she read my thoughts, Jolteons don't know how to telepathically communicate either, not all of them anyway.**

"**Please just show me your secret." I said, trying to remain as calm as possible 'I'm afraid that I can't actually do that. If I were to show you, then others would see me surely, so I'll tell you instead. I am Mew, and I've been staying in this clan in this form for quite some time now and I'll be leaving tomorrow because I have other places to be…..are you okay?' she asked, but I was obviously shocked. I was standing in the close vicinity of Mew, apart from Arceus, she was the boss, she was THE god. "How can I be okay? I am standing so close to a deity such as yourself and I was judging you the whole time. I only hope that you will forgive me. I had no idea." I calmly said to her.**

'**Now, my earlier question about the kit, if you please.' She smirked and winked at me "I'm not sure that's such a good idea." I warned, but she was urging me to continue 'I know enough now. The fact you were willing to tell me has opened your mind. I know everything that you do now.' Then she stopped her thoughts and stared wide eyed at me 'the kit is a human!?' I nodded 'you cannot let him return to his human form.' "Why not?" I asked 'because if he does then he will know where your clan is and put it at risk. Do you want that?' I shook my head "Chima wouldn't do that; if you had been watching him closely then you would know that he's settling into clan life as a normal kit. He's being raised by Kudzu and being treated like any other in our clan, and he doesn't remember much about being human anyway. Please, I beg of you, you must leave him alone. Sure, now that I know, I've noticed his human traits, but he's acting more and more like an Eevee every day, and I honestly don't believe that he would do such a thing even if he were to become a human again. We have raised him with care, and he wouldn't do that to us." I argued, I didn't know if what I was saying was right or wrong, but I said whatever I thought would defend Chima enough "Please." I begged. 'I will leave him and this clan for another two full years and then we will see. As far as I know, I have only heard of this kind of incident once before, and what I said he would do; it happened to the first group that took care of her, and now there are only a small number of that clan left. They are not very trusting now, because they made the mistake of trusting a former human.'**

"**Are you saying there is a way of getting him back as a human?" I asked and Mew nodded 'However, that was done by chance and there is no hope of it happening again, so don't waste your breath asking me for it. I'm just warning you that if he does become human again, then prepare to face the consequences of your trust.' And before I could respond she was dashing away as she echoed the word 'Goodbye.' She left me standing there in a state of shock. I now knew what Amara felt like when I telekinetically lifted her and felt a pang of empathy. I took five minutes to calm myself down until I continued on my way to meet up with Frost at his newly set up home. However, even as I drew closer to his home, I could not eradicate the thoughts racing around my head. **

**As the tall trees began to clear I saw a familiar Glaceon sitting, waiting for me to approach "Hey! Frost, over here." I shouted to him and he came confidently strolling over to me.**

"**Good morning." He chirped happily "Come on, I think you'll like it." He said to me and guided me to his new home. As we approached it, I saw that it was a cave in the middle of the forest, but when we went in it looked very well kept and was surprisingly spacious, it could probably fit at least five of us in here at a time without becoming too cramped and crowded. "What do you think?" he asked, smiling energetically at me and I looked deeply into his eyes and despite my mental argument inside of me 'I can't like him like that. He's human and would never feel the same way about me. It's just plain wrong, I can't fall for a human, he's meant to be my enemy.' "You okay there Luctis?" he asked me and then I realised that I was blushing, causing my violet fur to turn pinkish in front of Frost, who seemed to take notice and also blush.**

"**It's really nice Frost. I don't think I could've made it any better myself." I smiled at him, still blushing and he smiled back, but in almost no time he turned away and began to cry. I rushed to his side "Why are you crying Frost? You don't need to, I know your secret and I do not care about your past. I am not going to judge you on it." He stopped and looked at me, his wet fur by his eyes making his fur look ruined.**

**He began to well up even more and he began crying into his paws "I am crying because I have lost everything in my past. So, you might not care, but I sure as hell do! This shouldn't just happen to someone, I shouldn't be here, and it's clear that you don't want to know that I was a human." He yelled at me, and I felt really hurt by this, so I also started to cry a little bit. Frost then got angrier "See; now I've upset you. All I do is cause bad things to happen to everyone, so I appreciate how nice you and everyone else have been, but we all know that I shouldn't be here. Despite the fact I have been more comfortable in this body and I have enjoyed being a Pokemon, no one would actually let me stay if Amara, Demyx and Kudzu hadn't demanded that I stay." He choked**

**I walked up to him and looked at him closely. "I want you to stay." I quietly said whilst looking down at my paws so that I didn't blush, but I quickly tried to change the topic "Amara tells me that Kudzu and Taphyn are-" I was quickly interrupted by Frost.**

"**Why would you want me to stay?" he looked at me curiously, although I could see that he was trying not to blush after saying that 'I want you to stay because I…. I think I might like you' I said to him in my thoughts and his eyes grew wider as he heard the message and I turned away from him, waiting to hear his rejection and disgust at the message. I was expecting the worst response, but when I felt Frost sit right next to me I could have collapsed from embarrassment. However, to my surprise he began to nuzzle at my neck "I don't know why" he said "but I think I might be falling for you Luctis. I know that it's against everything I know, because I was human, and I don't know whether it is just new instincts kicking in, but I do know that I now have a reason to stay. I will stay for you." I couldn't believe I was hearing this; I was looking up at him with my mouth wide open in amazement and shock that he actually felt the same way about me. I would have never thought that it would be true, but that day I had found myself a mate in Frost, possibly one of the most unlikely things to happen; a human turned Glaceon and an Espeon. **

**However, I had to explain to him that we would have to be quiet about it "I would happily be your mate Frost." I then nuzzled him back and wound my tail around his quickly, before uncoiling it "However, we must keep this quiet for at least another week. Not many trust you yet, so if we wait a week, then all doubt will have passed and then we can let anyone know without any prejudice. And I promise that we will." I explained and then I leaned on him and tilted my head onto his neck, once again coiling our tails, binding them together.**

"**Come on." I lead him outside "I'm gonna help you control your attacks, because from what I've heard, you have the power, but the control is not there." He stood just outside the entrance of his home with an admiring smile.**

"**Anything for you." he winked at me.**

**I smirked at him and blushed slightly "Okay then, give me your best ice attack if you'll do anything." I teased and saw his body glow white until I saw him relax his body and shoot a powder snow attack. I assumed it was aimed towards me, but the attack went in nearly the opposite direction and dispersed within the first few metres of travel. "Okay, I see where you're going wrong." I began. **

**Taphyn's POV**

**I was a little bit nervous of what Kudzu would think after what Amara said. I know Amara was joking, but what she said about us was actually exactly how I felt about Kudzu, I loved her, but I couldn't tell her, because she has too much to commit to; she has Chima and her guild duties and I know how much she worries about Chima. However, today was different, Kudzu seemed extremely calm and okay with the fact that Amara and Demyx were looking after him, so she could finally work on her job without any distracting thoughts. On the other side, I was not thinking clearly and was unable to keep check on each of our clan's defences, and this was all because my mind was still clouded from my dream earlier; I couldn't stop thinking about it, because I was so desperate for it to happen. I decided that the only way I was going to be able to work properly is tell her. "Kudzu, how long until we take a break?" I asked and she looked around at our clan's perimeter and then looked at me.**

"**Not too long now. Why?" she smiled**

"**No reason." I lied and felt sick to my stomach. I couldn't wait much longer, but I could only hope that she would feel the same, because if she didn't then we would still have to finish work and then it would be a very long, awkward day for both of us. "So, how are Amara and Demyx doing?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going. She looked at me and frowned a little.**

**She opened her mouth slowly before speaking "Um, yeah, they're fine. Why are you asking? You've never been interested before." She said interrogatively. I didn't know how to respond, so I came up with anything I could.**

"**Well, they're just such a good couple aren't they? It's really amazing how they can be so loving towards each other and yet so committed to the guild as well." I said, literally thinking one word at a time.**

**Kudzu smiled at me as if I was strange for saying that "You really don't know how hard they work on their relationship. Amara would of course go for any challenge and this is just another one for her. However, as sweet as they may look, I fear that they may be breaking apart, and this has all been happening since Chima has come into the clan, but this has to be coincidence right? One unrelated kit cannot cause problems for them. You're right. They are amazing to keep it going, but I am worried that amazing won't be enough soon. It would break Amara's heart, which in turn would break mine to see her upset." She said actually trying to hold back tears, but she soon burst into tears and relied on me for support. As much as I wanted Kudzu, I didn't want her upset.**

**I kept her close to me until she calmed down. She had been crying onto my foreleg, which was now wet from her tears, and I fought hard to not freeze my fur to stop it from being soaked from her tears. "I'm sure it won't end. In fact, I think they will plan to start a family, because their love is so strong, so there is no need to cry Kudzu I promise." I assured her and soon she began to calm her cries. After we resumed our duty we didn't say much until we got on our break. We were at the highest point in our clan's territory, but despite this, we were hidden from everything except the sunlight.**

**I decided it's time so I sat myself next to Kudzu and lied down next to her "What's up?" she said to me, completely unaware of my intentions. "If it's about me crying earlier; I'm sorry, I just hate to think of Amara being upset." She continued talking about how close she and Amara were and I listened intently, each word she said sounded beautiful to my ears and I wanted to listen to her all day, but I needed to tell her, but I was filling up with doubts, causing my ears to press down and lay flat against me. "That's not what you want to talk about is it?" I shook my head. "Well, go on. You can tell me." She smiled at me sweetly, almost making me blush right there.**

**I didn't know how to begin and I could feel a lump inside my throat, almost stopping me from talking. I swallowed slowly and felt the lump go away "I don't quite know how to say this. How long have you and I been friends?" I asked.**

**She frowned a little in thought "Since we were little and after you said well done to me after beating Amara in the tournament. If I remember rightly it was you who I beat in the semi-finals." She winked at me.**

"**Right, yeah. What I want to say is a little difficult for me to say, but I hope that you won't judge me for what I am about to say." I stuttered, looking very worried and constantly making and then losing eye contact with Kudzu. However, if I didn't do this, then I wouldn't be able to talk to her without blushing horrendously.**

**Kudzu looked very intrigued now "You know I wouldn't ever judge you Taphyn, you are the sweetest, kindest and funniest g-" I interrupted her to quickly say what I had wanted to for a long time. **

"**Kudzu I think I love you." I said quicker than I've ever talked before. Kudzu looked at me confusedly.**

**She feigned a smile to try and be nice "Could you repeat that? I didn't catch what you were saying because you were talking so fast. I'm not a Jolteon you know." She joked, now laughing. **

**I was blushing deeper and deeper shades of red with every laugh until I plucked up the rest of my courage to say it slower "Kudzu." I started "I think…. I love…you." I slowly said it, but I kept my eyes closed because I didn't want to see the rejection on her face. However, the moment I opened my eyes I saw that Kudzu had stopped laughing and was now staring at me silently.**

**I could see that she was shocked and didn't know what to think "Are you sure?" she quickly muttered and I nodded at the same speed, both of us were now blushing. "I'm gonna be honest with you Taphyn, I didn't expect you to feel this way for me. I always thought we were just good friends." My heart began to sink and I was on the edge of tears, but I was saved by Kudzu talking again "However, I wish you would have told me sooner Taphyn." I didn't understand and looked at her accordingly "What I'm trying to say is…." She was struggling to hold her emotions together now "What I am trying to say is…..is…I think I love you too. I have felt strong feelings for you, but only recently have I started to take in these feelings and accept them. Taphyn, I hope you can forgive me." She said as tears gently rolled down her face; she wasn't crying, but tears were rolling.**

**I got close to her and licked away a stray tear "What are you sorry about? For being afraid? Kudzu, you saw me just a minute ago and I was afraid, but I figured if you have to wait for someone, that someone is worth it. And after all we've been through together already; I think we have waited enough for this to be worth it." **

**Kudzu got even closer to me and leaned on my body "I think that I was more nervous than you. Recently my feeling for you have increased dramatically and I didn't know whether I was just imagining you felt the same, but to know that we were thinking the same just melts my heart. I notice that my feelings increased just after Chima was found and accepted into the clan. When you were backing me up in the discussion, I couldn't have been any happier, and when you voted for Chima to stay, I always knew you would vote for him to stay." She gasped "This means Chima would have to call you his father. Are you sure you're fine with that. I know you like helping out the young, but are you sure you want that?" I also reeled back in the realisation that I would have to help Kudzu raise Chima. "You don't have to." Kudzu said to me "We don't have to if you don't want to."**

"**Kudzu, there is nothing I would love more than to be with you and help you raise Chima to grow into a strong evolution. I already get on well with Chima and I think I'm already a father figure to him, so I would have no problem spending time with him when you want some time alone or with your friends." I smiled at her and then nuzzled her.**

**She suddenly perked up "You don't suppose we should go tell someone do you?" I smiled at her and stood up next to her. **

"**Okay, we go past Frost's in the next few minutes if you want to tell someone who won't shout about it. I think I need to help him control his ice attacks anyway, so let's go there." I cheered and then we began to run through to Frost's new home. I had already offered him a place at my home, but he said he would rather do something by himself, to prove himself. However, Kudzu had never visited him since she and Amara saved him, so I had to lead the way.**

**As we were getting closer I could see that some of the trees had snow on them, and there was a light dusting of it on the ground. Also, the air had become a lot cooler "How is this even possible? Unless, someone else taught him how to use his attacks." I asked myself. Soon I saw two figures standing side by side and as I got closer I could see that those figures were Frost and….Luctis. 'What's Luctis doing here?' I thought and then I called for them "Luctis, Frost. It's Taphyn and Kudzu here. Mind if we join you two?"**

**They quickly jolted apart and then Luctis called back "Yeah, come here." And we got to them. Luctis looked a little bit beaten up although it seemed that she hadn't taken too much damage. I stopped and noticed that both Frost and Luctis weren't making eye contact with each other, and I was wondering why after they were so close before we arrived. **

**Frost was the first to speak "What brings you to my humble abode?" he asked and smiled at us, before blushing for some reason.**

**Kudzu spoke up "Well, we are just stopping by whilst working." She turned to look at Luctis "If that's okay?" and Luctis nodded.**

**I sat there and listened to their small talk, but I noticed that whenever either Frost or Luctis laughed, the other would follow. I was now becoming suspicious 'What are those two hiding from us?' The suspicions were eating away at me. "I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but to me, it seems like you two are hiding something. Are you?" I asked, receiving shocked looks from all three.**

**Kudzu tapped me with her tail "There is no need for that, because, well w-" she was interrupted by Frost, with a worried looking Luctis.**

"**Taphyn. You are correct. There is something we're hiding." He looked at Luctis.**

"**Frost, please, not yet." Luctis begged.**

"**I have no other way to say this, but you cannot repeat any of this until we say it's okay. Okay?" Kudzu and I both nodded, I looked and saw that Luctis was shaking with nerves and fear. Frost turned and nuzzled her "Luctis and I have agreed to be partners, mates I suppose you call it, and we would like it if you could keep it a secret for now at least."**

"**Don't worry, you have our word." I said "Kudzu and I have something to say as well, and in light of you two, this will now be easier. Kudzu and I are now mates, and we will both be raising Chima together." I smiled and everyone else joined.**

**Luctis seemed to take a bit longer to smile than anyone else, but I could see it was genuine "This is fantastic news. Not only for you, but also for Chima. You have no idea how beneficial it is for kits to have a father in their lives. I know you two will raise him properly. As for Frost and I, I would like to reinforce that you need to keep it a secret until we say so. I will have to tell Amara that she was right about you two." She winked at us "I think you two have been working hard enough today,s o I'm sure no one would mind you resting for the rest of the day. We can spend time together, all of us." She suggested to us.**

**Kudzu looked at me as we wrapped our tails together tightly "We would love to." She said, never breaking eye contact with me. We all could step forward now, not afraid of whatever lies before us, and this was going to be a new chapter in all of our lives. In just half a day I had made one of my dreams become reality and I was thankful the day had gone as great as I had hoped. I laughed to myself "What are you laughing at?" she smirked, but I think she knew that I was laughing about Amara's words earlier on in the day.**

**A/N:** Heyy, I'm sorry if you don't like this bit. I'm not great at all the romancey kind of things, so sorry about that. If you did like it thank you, I know it may have looked a bit samey at some points, but in a way it kind of needed to. Please review. With all the views I've been getting, I'd love to see what those extra people think. Okay, I'll update whenever I can. Byee 


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** I'm sorry if this update took longer than expected. I have been working on other stories as well, and I guess I've been kinda busy with parties and just generally being lazy, so yeah, sorry, but I'm back now. I don't own Pokemon, but I do own my characters in the story. Enjoy.

**Chapter 17**

**Chima's POV**

**I had an interesting day out with Amara and Demyx, I was taken to the geyser fields and Amara showed me how much fun the geysers were. She put me on the weaker ones and I was gently lifted up by the water stream until I was up to the height of Demyx's eye line. I didn't expect the jet suddenly stop so I found myself clumsily crashing to the ground in front of Demyx's paws. I started to sob uncontrollably, but I was soon comforted by both of them until I was fine again. Amara lead me to a slightly stronger vent and warned me that the water would also be hotter, so I needed to prepare for it. When the second vent shot me up I went up to the height of one of the smaller trees in the forest and I was becoming a little bit scared from the height, but this time when the vent stopped I was ready to land and was able to jump onto Demyx's back without injuring either of us.**

**At one point Amara ran off and was talking with other Flareon and Vaporeon and even though she looked practically identical to them, I could easily identify her because she was the loudest and far more energetic than the others; Demyx noticed me smiling at this "She's always been that way; very loud but not too arrogant, so I guess she got the perfect combination. It's also why she and Kudzu are such good friends, complete opposites that have balanced each other out." He said admiringly. Demyx then took me to a shaded spot where we could both rest and leave Amara to charge around the geyser field, Demyx told me to stay close to him so that he could keep an eye on me because he said he would, but that was no fun so I decided to go after Amara whilst Demyx wasn't looking.**

**I managed to sneak away just as Demyx fell asleep; I made sure to move when a geyser erupted, so that I would be covered by the noise. I made it to where Amara had led me before, but this time I couldn't see her, so I began to search for her. "Well well well, look who we have here. It's the little Eevee from that meeting." A voice mocked and I turned round to see that there were three Umbreon glaring down at me menacingly. I quivered as they got even closer and towered above me, it didn't matter that I was a good battler, if I even tried anything against three Umbreon I knew that I would stand no chance. **

**I tried to warn them and let out my best snarl, but I only succeeded in releasing a small growl that couldn't even intimidate a caterpie. The tallest Umbreon spoke to me "You have been getting way too much attention for our liking. What makes you so special anyway!?" he shouted at me, reducing me to tears "See, all you do is cry, all you did at the meeting was cry and all you've ever seemed to do is cry until you get attention from anyone." I was very upset by these comments and began to wail as my feelings were hurt further "You're just scared of everything unless you are told what to do in battle; doing well in that tournament doesn't mean you are brave. You'll never be brave." I had enough of it.**

**Through tears I managed to shout back "I am braver than all of you combined and I'll even prove it!" this caused all of them to smirk at me. They all turned round and huddled, talking to quiet for me to hear, but I knew they were talking about me.**

"**Okay, if you're so brave, why don't you go outside of official clan territory with us tonight." One of them said whilst the other two snickered, I was taken back by this and had conflicting thoughts 'If I go out then I will prove that I am brave, but if I don't then I'll be safe.' "Unless you're too scared, which I guess is right for a pathetic wimp like yourself. We'll see you whenever you decide to show up, and I would recommend that you don't tell your precious 'mummy' because there's no way she would let you go. If you don't show up in time then we'll leave without you and assume that you've accepted that you're not brave like you have claimed you are." The tall one sneered at me "Oh, and just for good measure we'll even give you a scar courtesy of us." He evilly winked. **

**I didn't understand what he meant, but as I was about to ask I was suddenly swiped to the ground and then held in place as two of the Umbreon pinned me down, the other one walked up to my face and lowered his head to look into my eyes "It's a shame really, I know how much all the girls have been admiring your 'cute' looks, but I'm about to make you basically the opposite, enjoy." He sadistically grinned at me before lifting his head back up and then placing a sharp claw just to the right of my neck. I was yelping feebly and trying to struggle out of their hold, but I wasn't getting any closer to escape; I was breathing quickly and just wishing that I had stayed close to Demyx the whole time. **

**The Umbreon's claw was raised above me so that I could watch as it plunged down to cut me deeply and scar my body. The claw suddenly dropped towards me and I closed my eyes to brace myself, but the pain I was expecting never came, instead I found that a massive amount of weight had been lifted off me and I opened my eyes to see that all three Umbreon had gone. I stood up and turned around to see that all three of them were being forced into the ground by Margaux, Lucie and Cada. "Who do you think you are, picking on someone as young as Chima!? I've never seen anything so despicable in my life. Look at you, Chima's life has barely begun, but you're already making it horrible for him. Ask yourself if you would want the same kind of treatment." Margaux was screeching at them and they all began to cower in front of her. "Now get out of here!" she yelled angrily at them causing two of them to dash away, but the tall one stood shakily.**

"**Remember, tonight with us." He said darkly to me before joining his colleagues and running away. The three turned around to face me, I was still scared and a little bit shaken from what just happened and I began crying once again, but even when all three of them were trying to calm me down, I couldn't stop, which was only filling my mind with more doubt 'Those Umbreon are right about me.' I thought as I cried profusely. I heard a soothing sound which made me stop, but then realised that the soothing sound coming from Lucie was in fact one of her attacks, grass whistle was being used on me so that I went to sleep rather than sobbed myself to sleep, but as I tried to fight it I found that my eyes were drooping and soon I collapsed into a deep sleep.**

**When I woke up all I could see was their eyes all looking down upon me "Are you better now?" Lucie asked whilst both she and Margaux wrapped around me defensively, I nodded and sniffled in response, I was still a little shocked by what had happened.**

**Margaux gave me a strange look and I matched it when I thought about the Umbreon's proposition "What did they tell you?" she asked, but it seemed more like a demand in the tone she said it. I put my head in between my paws, there was no way I could tell them because they would then tell Kudzu and then I wouldn't have proved I am brave and prove those Umbreon wrong. **

"**Do you promise you won't tell mummy? If you do I won't be able to show that I'm brave and I-" I stopped what I was saying realising that I had already given it away and I was now getting questioning looks from all three of them and their stares were unnerving me even further, now I knew I couldn't escape giving the answer "Those mean Umbreon said I'm not brave, but I am brave, so I'm accepting their challenge." I stood up proudly to show my confidence, but I was soon forced back down when Lucie snapped at me to sit back down, clearly she was not happy about this.**

**She was now glaring at me and I could see the anger in her eyes "I don't want you going to whatever they've planned for you. Look what they were about to do to you, if we didn't save you who knows how badly you could have been injured. Why would you need to prove that you are brave? You are a kit, the only thing you should be proving is you're alive, and I think you are pretty good at that already. Can you understand why I am saying this to you? It would be stupid to do whatever they are doing, so under no circumstances go and join them." I was reeling back into Margaux for protection, but instead I found that she was standing up and she now sat beside Lucie, giving me the same glare. I turned to Cada to see if he would help me, but the same expression was written on his face. I felt outnumbered and pressured.**

"**But-" I tried to say, but I was cut off by a less than happy Margaux.**

"**No buts, we don't want to see you hurt, and like Lucie said, you don't need to prove that you are brave, especially at your age. If you even try to do this 'challenge' they have given you, I will tell Kudzu and she will be even more angry than we ever could be." She warned me and I quivered from the cold harshness her words held in my mind. **

**I began to whine "Why are all of you against me!?" I yelled at them "It's not fair, just because I'm a little bit younger than you it doesn't mean that I can't do what they've challenged me to!" I was now glaring at them, but their expressions remained the same.**

**Cada walked beside me "I suppose you would like to tell us what you have got to do?" he asked, but I knew I had to answer because I didn't know how angry any of them could really get.**

**I felt myself go weak at the legs as I got ready to tell them, I knew what their answer would be, but I was going to go anyway, regardless of what they thought, I strained as I told them "I'm going to go outside official clan territory. There are you happy now?" I snarled the last part to try and warn them not to get angry.**

"**No." Margaux stated, keeping any sign of emotion locked away inside her.**

"**You're not going outside, only the guild members are allowed to do that, and only Kudzu and Amara actually do that as well. The reason for that is because it's too dangerous for you, too dangerous for us, too dangerous for most of the clan. Going out there would be crazy; you don't know what could attack you. You could be swooped up by a Skarmory, eaten by an Arcanine or even capture by a human! You don't want that do you?" Lucie ranted, but I could see she was genuinely concerned for me and was desperately trying to change my mind. I knew that I couldn't stop them, so I had a plan and I smiled to myself as I figured out what to do.**

**I walked up to Lucie and nuzzled against her body "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you all angry at me. I guess you're right; I shouldn't go outside the clan's territory. I promise that I won't go to their challenge. I should have just left it, but thank you for getting me away from my own stupidity." I said charmingly, the sudden change of attitude I displayed clearly shocked Lucie and Margaux, but they were also happier now that I was actually listening to them.**

**Lucie licked at my cheek "You know I would only say these things because I care about you, so don't beat yourself up about it too much." She chimed to me, settling me down. However, little did they know that I was just feigning my apology and when Kudzu was asleep tonight I would then walk out towards where the exit to clan territory is and then I would go outside and explore, proving that I am as brave as the Umbreon who mocked me. I had successfully made them unaware of my intentions, they all thought that I had given up on trying, but I don't give up on something like that so easily. "What do you say we get you back to where you are meant to be, because I'm sure that you didn't come here by yourself and I saw Amara with her friends saying that Demyx was looking after you, so my guess is that you have just a couple of minutes to get back to him before you have Amara and her friends all gawking over you." Lucie laughed as she imagined what I was going to have to go through "I can't remember getting that much attention as a kit, but hey, I can kinda see why." She winked until they all led me back to Demyx.**

**Whilst we were walking to Demyx, Cada slowed me down and spoke slowly to me "I know that you haven't changed your mind. As soon as Kudzu is asleep get outside and I will be waiting for you. If you're gonna do this, then I'm gonna be there to look out for you, because let's face it, you're gonna need some help there." He smiled to me and I smiled back knowing that I had an ally in Cada and I wouldn't be with those Umbreon by myself. **

**When we reached Demyx we found him sitting up and waiting for me rather angrily, with Margaux and Lucie looking at me apologetically. Cada gave me a nervous look "Thank you all of you for bringing him back." Demyx said before dismissing them, I watched as their forms faded away from where we were.**

"**I thought I told you to stay here." He said sternly, making my ears fix to the back of my head and press against my skull until they drooped down by the sides of my head. I turned round to face him, but I could only look at the ground as I got ready for the scolding I was about to receive "Do you know how dangerous it could have been for you if you were attacked by anyone? I know you're a strong fighter, but you wouldn't survive it and I wouldn't have been there to protect you, so I need to know what you were thinking when you decided to walk away from me. I gave Amara my word that you would be safe, but how can I keep you safe when you just wander off when you feel like it? You should consider yourself lucky that those three found you before anything bad happened to you." He ranted.**

**I rolled my eyes out of boredom "Don't roll your eyes at me kit, what I am telling you is important for you to know, but if you're too immature to even listen to me I won't bother, but if you're ever in trouble you will regret not listening to me." He raised his voice, startling me and causing me to get scared. "That trick doesn't work on me; you're not getting away from this talk by just giving me the sad look. I am very disappointed in you!" he shouted, scaring me even further, so I began to run away. I managed to run about ten metres away and I looked back too see if I was being followed, tears were streaming down my face and I was sniffling all the time. However, when I turned my head I quickly crashed into something.**

**I crashed into something soft and found myself on my back; I looked up and saw a confused Amara. She wasn't alone; there were many other Flareon with her, all wearing the same expression. "Chima? What's wrong and why have you been crying? Why were you running away from Demyx?" then she turned to the other Flareon "Excuse me girls, I've got to go talk to Demyx, can you look after Chima for a little bit?" they all nodded and then simultaneously smiled at me.**

**After a few minutes Amara returned "Okay, thanks girls, I'll just take Chima with me and we'll see you another time." She turned to me and changed her expression "Come with me." She said flatly and then we walked over to where Demyx was waiting. "Now as I understand, you ran away from Demyx's care, why?" she asked me.**

"**I wanted to play around the geysers again, and I wanted to see you." I said innocently and she nodded at me, trying to hold back a smile.**

**She then looked at Demyx "See, I told you that he didn't mean any harm, he just wanted to see me and have fun rather than fall asleep like you wanted to. If you're gonna be anything like this with our own kits you're gonna have to buck up." she winked at Demyx.**

**Demyx nervously smiled at Amara, but hinted at me "I don't think you should be talking about having kits in front of Chima, he's far to young to understand, if you know what I mean." And then Amara got the gist of what he was saying, so she decided to change the subject, but Demyx had noticed that the day had already practically passed away, and at a much quicker rate than we had expected "I think Kudzu will be waiting now don't you think? We shouldn't hold her up because she will get suspicious and then she will find out where he went today." And with that said I climbed onto Amara's back and sat quietly, thinking how I was going to be able to get outside tonight without waking up Kudzu.**

**Whilst I was resting on Amara's back I heard both of them talking about me "he still hasn't grown and it's been over a week since he arrived." Demyx stated.**

"**And your point being?" Amara asked him.**

"**My point being that maybe he is what we call a runt." He said adding emphasis to 'runt', this made my ears naturally fall down in sadness, but they soon perked up when I heard Amara laugh.**

**The way she was walking was enough to push Demyx a little whilst she was laughing "You really think he's a runt? Did you see the way he battled? He is far too strong to be a runt. He doesn't need to grow yet; he's still got plenty of time. If he was close to evolving and he was that size then yeah, we could maybe worry, but he's not even a month old as far as we know." Amara defended.**

**I peered over Amara's head to see that we were approaching my home, but from what I could see, Kudzu wasn't there, but for some reason I could tell that someone else was in there, not necessarily intruding, but someone else was in there. I leaped off of Amara's back and dashed to my home to find that inside my home was Devin just sitting calmly. He looked a little startled when I entered, but calmed down as soon as he saw it was me "Good evening little one, do you know where K-" he was about to ask, but was stopped when he saw Amara and Demyx "my apologies, I didn't know that Kudzu was not with you."**

"**That's exactly who we're now looking for. She was working with Taphyn today, and he had to help Frost learn how to control his attacks, so my guess is that she stayed and tried to help as well. We'll go and look for her at Frost's home. You stay here and look after short and fuzzy." Amara joked, telling Devin what to do and then setting off with Demyx to find Kudzu. **

**I was left in a situation that felt almost as awkward as when I met Taphyn for the first time. Both of us didn't know how to start. "You did well in the tournament. No one expected you to get that far." He started and I looked up at him and smiled "I think all of the other competitors were at least a year older than you, so you know, you did very well." I could see he was trying to pry something out from his own words, like he was trying to remember something and then his eyes widened in realisation "Do you remember against that Leafeon, Lucie and against Margaux? When you fired what looked like a dark orb?" I nodded and he practically grinned from ear to ear. "Do you know what that was?" and I shook my head, then I tilted it in curiosity. "That 'dark orb' was in fact an attack called 'Shadow ball'. You only seemed to be able to do that attack when you were in serious danger, so you didn't actually know how to summon the attack did you?" and I shook my head again. "Let's change that now." He stated and got up, quickly picking me up and taking me outside then placing me on the ground. "Okay, watch closely."**

**I sat and saw Devin take a few paces away from me. I saw him slowly inhale and could have sworn that I saw some kind of mist around him for a second, but the mist started to disappear as a small dark orb began to grow just in front of his mouth. Even when he had finished inhaling, the orb grew. Devin turned his head away from me and then quickly exhaled, sending the orb into a tree that was close by. I looked back at him to see that the mist had returned, but when he breathed normally it all disappeared and then returned to me. "Did you see that slight fog around me when I slowly breathed in?" I nodded and he smiled at me "See, in the blink of an eye I sensed all the spiritual energy around me, and when I can sense it, you can see it, so that is what you need to do. I want you to try and sense the spiritual energy. To make it easier I'll try with you, because it will then try to reach any body that is trying to harness it." He stood me up and then we were both concentrating. I saw that the mist had returned and he then looked at me "Just try to relax your mind and then you will be able to feel it; it feels a little bit like air brushing through your fur." I did as I was told and closed my eyes briefly to relax.**

**Soon I felt as if I was floating a little bit, but that soon changed to the feeling of wind gently running across my fur. Devin had obviously taken note of that and was saying to me "Now slowly open your eyes, if you rush this, you will lose all of the energy." I did as I was told and very carefully opened my eyes, and I saw that the mist was now surrounding me. I was a little bit startled by the sudden presence of the mist, but Devin knew exactly what to do "Do not panic. Breathe in slowly; if you breathe in too fast then the shadow ball will blow up in your face." I took a little bit of time to calm down until I was calm again, so I slowly took a deep breath and found that a small orb was growing right before me even though I had finished breathing in. "Now, find a target then breathe out quickly, then you will have fired it." I picked the same tree that Devin fired at and then sharply exhaled, shooting the ball into the tree where it exploded on impact, although the explosion only left a small dent on the sturdy tree. **

**Devin and I continued to practice this, and despite the countless times where I lost concentration and forced the ball to explode right in front of me, I was actually getting better. "With some more practice you should be able to get that spot on." He paused and looked out into the distance "What do you think could be taking them so long?" he asked. Demyx and Amara had been away for several hours and it was starting to get dark. The darkness reminding me of what I was doing tonight. "I suppose I should get you ready to sleep. Come on little one, you need to get some rest, especially after all that work you've done." I protested by sitting down and sternly looking at him, his crimson eyes no longer making me feel scared. "Okay, you asked for it." He sighed and then picked me up and walked in, and then he put me down on my bed.**

"**I can't get to sleep." I whined, but Devin just ignored me, sitting at the entrance waiting for Kudzu to arrive. I closed my eyes and pretended that I had gone to sleep. As if on cue I heard more footsteps approaching and I couldn't hold it up anymore, I quickly rushed to the entrance and sat ahead of Devin to see Kudzu approaching, but something was different. I couldn't quite tell what, so I just shrugged it off. I saw that Taphyn was walking slightly behind her with a smile on his face. I ran to Kudzu and she embraced me when I reached her.**

**She then stood up straight "Looks like someone missed me." She laughed. "Taphyn, could you please get Chima to bed whilst I give Devin our thanks." He nodded and then picked me up and I was carried to my bed again. I could hear Kudzu thanking Devin from outside "You did all that just to help him? Well, you're in our debt. I'll find a way to repay that favour." She paused whilst she listened to Devin "Oh yeah, Amara and Demyx found us and they're now talking with Frost and someone else. I told them thank you for looking after Chima as well." I heard, but I was soon blocked off by Taphyn.**

"**You know, listening in on a conversation is rude." He winked at me "However, I was doing the same, so I'll leave this between you and me." Kudzu entered after seeing Devin off and then I noticed that Taphyn didn't appear to be leaving like he usually would at this point. Kudzu wrapped around me like she usually does, but Taphyn still stayed. Taphyn then got down and laid beside Kudzu, leaving me in the middle. I whined, causing Kudzu and Taphyn to sit up in front of me, not amused that I had kept them awake.**

**Kudzu then changed her expression as she realised that she had forgotten something "Oh, Taphyn, we didn't tell him did we?" she faced me "This may be a little bit hard for you to understand Chima, but Taphyn and I are now together. Do you understand what I mean." I nodded, remembering what she had said about Amara and Demyx "Well, because of that, Taphyn will now be staying with us, this also means you have a new father." I gave a disdainful look because I wasn't sure how I felt about this, but I was soon hushed by Kudzu "I know it will take some getting used to, but I promise that you will be happier." She said reassuringly, but I didn't know if that was true, so I nodded slowly in acceptance although there were many thoughts running through my mind.**

**All three of us then went back to lying down and soon they were asleep, leaving me to wait for them to be unaware of anything around them. Waiting took a long time, but eventually I had decided that I had been waiting long enough and it was getting dark outside, so I would have to move quickly to avoid embarrassment. I remembered that Cada said he would meet me outside. I carefully leapt away from Kudzu and Taphyn and soundlessly crept outside; it was dark, but not so dark that I couldn't see anything. I walked until "Hey, I'm here like I said." Cada whispered before coming out of a bush "You have no idea how hard it was to not go to sleep whilst waiting for you." He joked. "I know a shortcut, follow me." He said and then he began to creep out of sight, so I followed him briskly, but made sure I made little noise.**

**Frost's POV**

**I decided that after Luctis left I would go for a walk and further familiarise myself with my new area. There was one place I had to go past, the entrance. I needed some time to figure out if I would want to stay here forever. I needed a back up plan if it didn't work between me and Luctis, and I was considering if leaving was an option in that case. However, I was more than certain it wouldn't end for me and Luctis, even if we had only known each other for a few days. She just seemed to understand me, I'm not always as stubborn as I seem, and it was just more of a front to hold up in defence. I was sure Luctis was going to fight that front and knock it down for good, not that I really minded.**

**I got up and left my house in the direction towards the entrance. I walked for a couple of minutes before I stopped and noticed that there were three Umbreon walking in the same direction ahead of me. With my new sense of hearing I could just about make out what they were saying. "We'd better get there before the runt does. It would make him seem better than us." One of them was complaining. By listening, I learned that they were all headed towards the entrance, but I had no idea why, I was told that the only ones who ever go to the entrance are some of the guards, and Kudzu and Amara, but generally, the others are not allowed unless they are permitted to leave, and that's only at daytime, so I didn't know why they were heading there. I decided to follow, but not too closely or else I would be seen and then I would never find out why.**

**After stalking behind them for at least half an hour and too many close calls for my liking, they had reached the entrance "See, I told you that we would get here before him." One of them boasted. I was still wondering who this other one was, so I had to wait in silence for the fourth member to arrive. Thankfully, it didn't take long before not one but two extra pokemon arrived, it was an Eevee and a Vaporeon, and I recognised the Vaporeon, he helped me with my house, it was Cada. I was surprised to see him out here, presumably getting up to no good. I noticed that the Eevee was a little bit smaller than all of the others I had seen. However, the Umbreon didn't seem too pleased about the Vaporeon being there. "Why are you here?" the Umbreon sneered.**

"**I'm here because I want to prove that I'm braver than you as well. It can't be that hard considering how you aren't brave." He taunted back at them. I noticed that the Eevee was sticking close to Cada and keeping his distance from the Umbreon. "Chima told me about your little dare." He said, and I then realised that the Eevee was the same one that Kudzu had been talking about earlier.**

**One of the other Umbreon laughed "If you think this is a 'little dare' you are dreadfully mistaken. We're gonna go outside and explore the area, then we're gonna come back just before dawn to make sure nobody knows. You think you can do that to?" he said and growled at the Eevee, causing it to recoil back in fear from the Umbreon, but Cada stepped in between the two.**

**He gave the Umbreon a stern look "There's no need for that. So, shall we go or are you too scared to lead the way?" he smirked and began to add laughter just to annoy the Umbreon further. They all turned round and began to walk to the entrance. I quickly stepped out and made myself known.**

"**What are you doing?" I said, putting on an authoritative tone to startle them, but I winked at Cada before they turned round. "You know you're not allowed out of clan territory unless given permission at day time." I sternly said, but when they turned round and saw it was me, they then began to smirk.**

**The tallest one stepped forwards "You're that Glaceon that was found in the woods. Just because you're older doesn't mean that you tell me what to do." He argued and bared his teeth at me, but I wasn't startled in the slightest.**

**I smiled at him "I'm not here to stop you, I just thought that if you did happen to get caught, you would need an alibi made by an adult, whom they would respect." I slyly replied.**

**The other two seemed intrigued, but the tall one didn't seem convinced "How do we know that you won't just tell on us as soon as we leave?" he replied cleverly, but I was one step ahead of him.**

"**Because I'm coming with you." I stated, and he knew there was no way he was going to stop me from coming with them. "Okay, let's get going." I said cheerfully, dampening their spirits even more. Cada got Chima to sit on his back as we traversed the complicated cave system. I could have sworn that it was different than when I first arrived. We soon got out to the surface that was illuminated by the moonlight. I now had a chance to actually take in the scenery around here at night because when I first came here, we were in such a rush to get me to the clan that we couldn't just look around.**

**We stepped out into the small clearing just before the entrance. "We'll see you back here just before dawn okay?" one of the Umbreon said and the three of us nodded. The Umbreon then walked away and began exploring the area around. **

**I looked around and saw trees, only trees, but when I looked up I saw the night sky covered with stars, perfectly clear; it was amazing and I gasped in awe of them. I turned my attention to the other two "Now can you two tell me why we're actually out here?" They nodded and Cada took his time to explain that Chima had in fact been dared to prove his bravery and Cada had come along to make sure that Chima was safe. I agreed to not tell Kudzu or Cada's parents about this, because they didn't need to get into trouble for this, even if they shouldn't have been out here. "Well, I suppose now that we're out here, we might as well look around." I said, and they agreed so we began to walk in the same direction the Umbreon went.**

**After a few hours of nothing, it was getting close to dawn, so we decided that we ought to get back. We made sure that we didn't wander too far, so that we had enough time to get back quick enough. However, just as we turned to leave we heard someone call out and just seconds later two of the Umbreon came out of nowhere and looked at us panicked "We need your help now." One of them said "Our friend has got stuck and we think that there is a human nearby. We can't let him get captured. Please, you've gotta try and help." It pleaded. I nodded and they led us to where I saw the taller Umbreon stuck. There was a rope around one of his back two feet. The rope had tightened as soon as he stepped into its area, meaning that there was little hope for escape. I tried to think of a way for him to escape, but first I had to calm him down because it looked like he was hyperventilating.**

**I walked up to him and he looked at me, worry written all over his face, and he was trying to hold back tears "Hey, it's going to be okay. You don't need to worry." I repeated as I walked around him and inspected the rope trap carefully to see if there was any way of getting him out. The rope was too thick for us to chew through even if our teeth were sharp. I saw where it had been set up and noticed that where it was placed made it quite weak and possibly susceptible to a strong enough attack. "Okay, you may feel this a little bit, but I am trying to free you. No pain no gain right?" he looked at me confused by what I just said, but prepared himself anyway. I shot an ice beam at the trap's main mechanism, freezing it on the inside as well as the outside. **

**They all looked at me, not sure why I did that "Right, has anyone got any attack that will be strong enough to break the mechanism to pieces." No answer "I've made it brittle by freezing all of it, so I just need something that can smash it. We can worry about the rope later. Fine, I'll try first." I huffed a little but then charged at the mechanism. I head butted it at full speed, but to my surprise there wasn't even a small crack. "Some of you must know something like iron tail." I moaned and then finally I got a response, but the response was from the little Eevee, Chima.**

"**I know iron tail." He said and then he walked up to the mechanism and I could've sworn he laughed when he saw there was no crack on it after my head butt. I watched as his tail literally turned to metal and I watched as he swung it round to smash it to pieces. A wave of relief passed through everyone as the taller Umbreon gingerly walked away from where he was standing. "Can we go now? I think that the human would probably here that." Chima muttered, but it fell upon deaf ears because the three Umbreon were sharing their loud jubilation over their friend's escape.**

"**Guys be quiet, I think I can hear something." I said, trying to shush them. I then noticed a flicker of light in the short distance from us. "How sure are you that there's a human around here?" I asked.**

"**We don't know for sure, but we think there is because of that light." He pointed towards the light source I had noticed. "You're not going to check it out are you?" he asked worriedly.**

**I looked at him "No, we all are." I said causing all of them to look at me, some with terror in their eyes and the others with disdain. I silently walked until I found that the source of light was getting dimmer. As we got closer, we saw that the light source was a fire, the cinders now dying out as the morning was starting to brighten. I scanned the area and saw that there was someone was in a sleeping bag, and thankfully they were asleep.**

"**Oh, hey, this looks pretty cool." One of the Umbreon said, but I didn't know that he had snuck past me and was now toying with what looked like a pokedex. I remembered what it looked like form the games and this device looked similar, so I assumed that is what it was. The Umbreon happily picked it up with his mouth, but on his way back he tripped and dropped it. The pokedex opened and turned on, and unfortunately it scanned the area. **

"**Four different Pokemon detected." The device stated. However, it was loud enough to wake up the person. They blindly searched for it, but when they realised they had to get up they groaned. The person, female, got out o her sleeping bag and without noticing the Umbreon lying down in front of her, she picked up her Pokedex. We thought that we had just about gotten away "Four different Pokemon detected." The machine repeated and I cursed under my breath.**

**The girl looked at her Pokedex in confusion, but she then pressed something and it read out to her "The four different Pokemon detected are: Umbreon, Vaporeon, Glaceon and Eevee." The girl's eyes widened in delight after hearing 'Eevee'. She then looked and saw the tripped Umbreon and he quickly scurried away, but because he scurried to us, she then looked directly at us. I blocked Chima from view, knowing exactly who she was after, and then I took a defensive stance and Cada copied.**

**She used her Pokedex to scan out Chima "Is he yours then?" she asked and I replied, but she didn't understand what I was saying due to the language barrier "Well, there's no harm in having a look is there?" she said, and I let my guard down a little and let her see Chima. He was shivering with fear, but maintained a curious expression. "Hey there little guy." She waved to Chima who just moved closer to me, but still kept looking at the girl. She went in to touch him, but stopped when she got close to me and Cada "I promise that I won't try to catch him. If he's yours then I have no right to take him from you." She chimed, and I relaxed a little bit more. She petted me and I begrudgingly endured it and actually found that it felt nice after getting over my initial embarrassment. She did the same with Cada and then reached out to pet Chima. He backed away from her hand, still terrified "I promise I won't hurt you little guy, I just wanna be friends. I think I have someone who you might like to meet." She stepped away a bit and then came back with a pokeball, so Cada and I immediately took up our defensive positions again, but stopped when she released another pokemon from the ball. When the light faded we saw an Espeon there. She looked at Chima and picked him up telekinetically.**

"**It's okay, my trainer doesn't want to catch any of you. She just wants to make friends. She even told herself that she only needs me to journey with, so even if you are as cute as you are. She only wants to have me." The Espeon smirked and winked at me 'What is it with me and Espeon?' I thought, joking to myself. "My trainer wants to be a vet, so she occasionally goes out into these woods and looks at all the different pokemon. Excuse her for a moment." She said before the girl began talking what sounded like a load of gibberish, but she was actually saying medical related words.**

**She then stood up "Okay Beth, you can let him go now. From what I can tell, this Eevee is healthy, and he will be growing a lot in the next two months until he reaches near a full size Eevee, where his growing will slow considerably. He is just over three weeks old and is developing at the right stage. He has already teethed and now has a full set of teeth perfect for their job." She said, proud of her analysis, although, I couldn't see the point in it. **

**Cada alerted me "I don't know what she was saying before, but I don't think she wants to capture Chima. I hate to say this, but I think we'd better get going. It is very nearly dawn and we've spent too much time here anyway." I agreed and then snatched Chima from the girl and her Espeon. "Good bye. Tell your trainer that we need to go now." Cada told the Espeon and she nodded, then telepathically communicating to her trainer, explaining that they didn't take Chima out of spite.**

**After running for just a few minutes we reached the entrance. We began to walk in, but we were stopped by one of the Umbreon "I think that I want to stay out here." He said, getting our attention, but before we could do anything he was running away "I will miss you, and I will come back after I've travelled enough. Bye!" he called as he disappeared into the forest.**

"**I bet he's just gone back to see that Espeon." The tall Umbreon snickered to his friend. I couldn't see this as a laughing matter though. That was someone's child just running away without letting them know, but there was nothing I could do to stop him, so I silently carried on. "So, you're definitely not going to tell anyone." He asked whilst we were working our way back down the cave and I nodded, forgetting that we were in the dark.**

"**Yes. I won't tell if you don't do it again. Also, you'd better come up with a great excuse as to why your friend ran away. I won't get involved with that." I said sternly as we were starting to reach clan territory.**

**He laughed again "Oh, we'll just play the innocent 'I don't know anything' act, that always works with us." He stopped talking for a short while "Oh and short stuff." He said to Chima "We were wrong about you, you are brave. However, not a word of this to your mum, we've seen what she's like when she's angry and we'd rather not face it if I'm honest." He chuckled nervously. Chima nodded the light starting to brighten a little as we approached the territory. **

**When we made it back into the clan I smiled with relief, another challenge and risk overcome, just. We had a close call when the girl woke up, but she was not really a threat, just a hold up. The two Umbreon ran away to their homes. "I'm gonna take Chima home now, I'll see you soon Frost." Cada said as he and Chima began to walk away in their direction, leaving me to walk back to my home alone. I strlled along slowly, taking my time to watch the land around me brighten up as dawn slowly began to overtake the night, blessing the scenery with its bright light. As I got closer to home I was joined by Luctis "Good morning. Why were you up so early?" she laughed and then we both nuzzled each other "You know, I've been thinking. Maybe it would be good for everyone to know, from what I've heard, most of them like you." I looked at her curiously.**

"**Them?" I asked and she then giggled a little bit.**

"**Everyone, no one seems to distrust you. So, what do you say?" she asked hopefully and I just replied by smiling, she already knew my answer. I was now happier than I had been in a while, but I still had to hide something from her to keep my promise with the Umbreon, and that was still eating away at me a little bit. "Is anything wrong?" she asked. I shook my head and smiled at her and then we carried on walking home. "You look tired actually. What were you doing last night?" she asked and I gulped a little.**

"**I was just going for a walk and lost track of time. When it got late enough I decided that I might as well stay up and watch the sun rise." I cleverly lied. "I was walking back so I could get some rest before the day actually began. I can stay awake though, now that you're here." I charmed. However, when we got home, I lied down on my bed and quickly started to drift off to sleep; the whole night time ordeal had taken its toll on me. Luctis curled up to me as I fell asleep.**

**A/N:** I hope you guys liked it. I did think about the girl trying to catch Chima, but then thought it has been done so many times before, so I decided to go my weird route :P it's probably been done before, but I haven't seen it in this context yet. I'll update whenever I can. I'll try to before my holiday on the 8th of august. Please review; I would very much like to see what you guys think okay, bye 


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:**Hello, as I promised the next chapter before my holiday, which I was wrong about, it's from the 9th of august until the 16th, so I obviously won't be updating then. I am leaving about an hour from when I post this. I don't own Pokemon, but I do own my characters.

**Chapter 18**

**Kudzu's POV**

**I didn't know what to think; Chima had gone missing. He was with Taphyn and myself when we went to sleep, but when I got up to watch the sun rise he was gone, completely vanished as if he never existed, but I couldn't understand why he would run away in the middle of the night. It led me to the only other conclusion I could think of; someone snuck in and took him and that meant that I was now worried and angry. Whoever had hurt him would have to face the consequence. My only child had been taken from me and I was hurting from it. Taphyn tried to comfort me, but it was all in vain, I couldn't calm down. All of the shock had turned into energy that was fuelling my anger and I needed an outlet.**

**Minutes after I had gained all the energy I saw Chima walking back towards me; I couldn't believe it, after all of my worry, he was fine. However, I was still in shock from losing him, so when I saw that someone was with him I immediately assumed it was his captor, but as soon as I attacked the assailant I regretted it, because the evil figure I had been visioning was actually just a Vaporeon, and that Vaporeon was Cada; he was completely shocked and froze in his place. He was lucky that I only jumped at him rather than using any of my attacks because I could have wounded him badly and I wouldn't be able to stand the guilt I would inevitably feel. **

**I took several steps back and cautiously asked him "Are you okay? I'm really sorry, I don't know what came over me, I just didn't know if you had taken Chima away from me, so I attacked whoever I thought had taken him and as you were next to him, I assumed." I stumbled through my words, trying to pry out any sense in my actions, although I was finding little sense myself. Cada looked at me, clearly still shocked, but he was recovering now. I looked away from him, embarrassed from it all. "I'm sorry." I repeated, but then I heard a small laugh escape from him.**

"**You don't have to be sorry Miss Kudzu, I know my mother would've done the same thing in your situation, I was just a little bit shocked because it all happened so quickly." He laughed lightly and let Chima walk over to me before he turned to walk away.**

**I was still curious as to why Cada was walking along with Chima anyway. "Cada" I called and he turned round immediately, looking a little bit worried. "Why were you and Chima walking together?" I asked.**

**Cada looked at me, then down at Chima and I noticed that both of their ears were drawn back a little bit, but before I could ask them about that Cada quickly spoke up "Well, I was walking along before sunrise because I just couldn't sleep; all the attention I've had since the tournament has made me restless, so I went for another walk. I passed by your home and noticed that Chima was sitting just outside and he saw me and ran up to me. When he asked if he could take a walk with me I was reluctant, but he was too stubborn to accept 'no', so we went for a walk and we only just got back. I would've carried on for longer, but I was aware that you wouldn't be too happy with this, so I brought him back as quickly as I could." Cada explained whilst smiling. However, I could tell he was lying to me; his early reaction to my question had already given me my answer. I wasn't going to ask what actually happened, that would be too cruel to him. Instead I would let Chima accidentally spill what happened and then I would talk to Cada, but I just had to wait. I thanked Cada and let him walk home.**

"**Ah, great, you found him!" Taphyn cheered happily as he walked outside to greet Chima. "Great to have you back buddy." He said as he nuzzled Chima, I couldn't help but laugh when I saw Chima look up at me as if he didn't know what to do. He still had conflicting thoughts about whether he accepted Taphyn as his father yet. It was different because when I found him, he had no one, so he had to accept me, but it was very easy for him to start seeing me as his mother, but because I have always been there it is almost natural to him. However, because I've always been there, he isn't used to someone else treating him like this, and this would make him unsure of whether I am okay with it or if he is okay with it. After what seemed like a few moments of struggling, he reluctantly returned it.**

**I looked down at Chima and he caught my gaze "Now, do you want to tell me what actually happened this morning? Why were you and Cada actually up that early?" I asked, almost trying to pressure him into giving me the answers. I kept my gaze on him and I could see that he was now shivering with fear. I leaned in closer to him "Well?" he was terrified that he had been caught in his attempt to lie to me.**

**Through a moment of Chima remaining still he managed to say "Not telling." And then quickly hid behind Taphyn and he did not look amused either. **

**Taphyn stood up and walked by my side "No, I'm not being your safety barrier Chima; you need to tell us the truth. Why would you even go outside at that time? Someone your age needs far more sleep that we do; not to mention that it could also be quite dangerous for someone your age. We won't get angry if you do tell us." He reassured, but I could tell Chima did not believe a word of it so he kept his stern face with him until I stood up and walked over to him, picking him up and taking him inside.**

**I put him down on the floor and then looked at him angrily "You are going to tell me; otherwise you will not be leaving this home for a week. That means no going outside, no practice fields, nothing. I suggest that you tell me now, unless you want to have a week of nothing to do." I could see that he was tormented by the prospect of having to spend a whole week bored out of his mind. I knew that he was beginning to crack under the pressure "I'm sure your friends would want to see you as well, and they would be disappointed if you weren't there. So, it is probably easier to just tell me, then you can go outside and see your friends." I encouraged and I could see that he was about to open up and answer despite the fact he didn't want to. "It can't be that bad." I said and the reply came quicker than I thought. **

"**It is and you'll shout at me when I tell you, but I guess there's no way out of this." He sighed deeply before closing his eyes and then he looked up at me "I went outside territory and Cada came with me and…..and….. We explored a little bit." He said, but he was looking away from me to try and escape my glare. However, I was looking at him with nothing but sheer anger; I could not believe that he would do anything as stupid as that.**

**I called in Taphyn and he sat beside me, I calmly asked Chima to repeat what he had told me. When he told it again I felt my blood boil; I was so angry at Chima that I was finidng it hard to not interrupt him in blind rage. I calmly looked at Taphyn and I could see that he head the same anger bubbling up inside of him. I looked back down at Chima and he noticed that he now had two pairs of angry eyes staring down at him, so he tried to cover himself away with his tail. "There's no good doing that." I said bluntly "I don't know what to say to you Chima." He let his ears fall back again and I could see that he was expecting the worst and as I was looking at him I could hear what he said in my mind; it kept on playing over an over again, causing me to get even angrier. **

**Taphyn coolly stepped in before I did shout "What were you thinking? I was just telling you that going out here at night was dangerous for you, but going outside of clan territory is that danger and much, much more. You shouldn't have done that, and the fact Cada was there doesn't make it any better, in fact it is worse. Can you imagine how worried Kudzu would've got if you didn't show up for a day? Trust me; it wouldn't be good for anyone. Cada should have known better than dragging you along with him and we'll talk to him later." I had to stop Taphyn so that I could talk to him instead.**

"**Okay Taphyn, that's enough." I said flatly letting Chima relax a little bit until he realised why I had actually stopped him. "Like I said, I don't know what to say to you." I then found that I couldn't contain my anger now "What you did was really selfish and you should know better! I've been bringing you up so you are good and sensible, but you've just shown me that you are a liar and troublesome. I honestly thought better of you, especially as you know better than most how dangerous it is out of clan territory; I thought that I could trust you to not go anywhere without my permission. I don't ask much from you Chima, all I do is make sure that you are safe and healthy, and if this is how you repay me I don't know if it is worth all the effort. I find myself questioning if I can actually trust you or if we will have to wait another few months until you've grown up a bit more. I gave you my trust and care and after this it just seems like you smashed it back into my face, and it hurts a lot. I am going out to work now and I expect a damn good apology when I get home; Taphyn, you make sure that he has no fun today." I angrily demanded and then quickly ran off, trying to get over it, but the thought of him disobeying something as serious as that was just destroying any trust I had for him.**

**When I got to work I saw who I would be working with and I was happy because it was Devin and I would be able to tell him what happened, but I knew he wouldn't make a big fuss over it, instead he would just listen intently "Hey, I was wondering when you were gonna show up. You usually get here way before anyone else would." He saw the frown I was wearing and quickly backtracked "Then again, if anyone deserved the extra rest it is you, trying to balance working on the guild with your mate and at the same time trying to raise a kit, I'd say you've earned the extra rest." He rambled on, always looking to see if he was changing my frown, but I was too angry and when he mentioned 'kit' I felt my anger and frustration increase yet again. He stopped in front of me and looked at me with his own frown, but his frown was of concern, not matching mine which was full of spite and frustration. "Kudzu, tell me what's wrong." He said, sounding slightly like he was pleading, but keeping a confident tone. I had to tell him, even though repeating what happened would just crush me even more on the inside.**

**Luctis's POV**

**I stayed awake the whole time Frost laid there. I soon got bored and decided that I was going to leave. However, my mind had other ideas and out of curiosity I wondered if I would be able to read his mind whilst he was asleep. I gave it a try by looking for what his past world was like, but it came to nothing; I couldn't even find out how he got into our world. I could only look through the memories that he has had as a pokemon. As I looked at his memories I smiled at how in just few days he had managed to adapt as well as he had. However, I stopped smiling when the memories reached the point where it was late last night and he was walking and then he saw Chima and the young Vaporeon, Cada, they had met up with three Umbreon who I couldn't quite see properly because they were still trying to stay hidden. I watched in horror as I found out what Frost had actually done last night. He had come into contact with a human and actually allowed this human to get close to Chima. I stopped watching, I had seen enough and I needed to confront him about this.**

**I nudged Frost again and again until he groggily opened his eyes "Wake up right now." I said sternly and he quickly shot up and looked at me. "I want you to tell me why you lied about going out for your 'walk'." I looked at him dangerously so he knew not to lie now because I was not happy with him.**

**He was clearly startled from my sudden bad mood "W-well, you see, I thought that because we're not technically allowed outside without permission during the day, that it was probably best that you or anyone else didn't know, especially as you're on the guild." He explained and I just sighed as my anger faded away quickly. "I mainly went out to make sure that everyone else was okay, but I have no excuse as to why I led them towards a human, I am sorry Luctis, in the end curiosity got the better of me." I just shook my head and then walked up to him and sat down beside him.**

**I looked up at him "It's not me you should be worried of. I know that the Eevee you were with was Chima, and I'm sorry to say this, but because of his age, he is likely to be asked about it by Kudzu because she is very smart and will know when someone is lying. When she does ask him about it he will probably mention that you were there with him. When she finds that out, she will come looking for you. All you can do is take the abuse she will undoubtedly give you. It is verbal of course; she wouldn't strike you unless Chima actually got hurt." He gulped and then straightened up and smiled at me.**

"**Well, I'm sure an ice beam can change that. After all, my type is really strong against hers." He beamed proudly and confidently. I just sighed at this "What? You don't think I'm strong enough?" he whined.**

**I stood up to look him in the eyes "No, you're definitely not strong enough; Kudzu is probably the strongest battler we have in this clan. And even if you did manage to stop her, keep in mind that her best friend, Amara, is really strong against your type. Also, I don't think you would be very popular with most if you attacked any one member of the guild, so don't try attacking her." I warned and he looked a little bit upset that I said he was weaker than someone, but I could tell that he understood. "So what was it like, meeting a human? I mean, from a different perspective of course." He looked at me and smiled warmly as he walked over to me.**

**He gave me a cheeky wink and forced both of us to sit down so he could tell me in comfort "Well, first of all, it is so strange to see a human look twice the size of me, especially as I was probably taller than the one we saw, but now I'm towered over by them that it's a little bit intimidating. Another thing is the fact that I'm now not human, I was talked down to in a way, but this human wasn't disrespectful as such, in fact she was polite, but I imagine that there are other humans who would be really patronising whilst talking to pokemon as if we're dumb. It really was quite strange, but I didn't really think about it whilst it was happening, I was concentrating on keeping Chima safe." He stared at me with a look of genuine honesty, just as I became unsure whether I could trust him; he was able to change my mind quickly and quickly found myself trusting him again; all of this was done with one look he gave me. **

"**I've never seen a human up close before; I was just kind of jealous that you did, even though you've seen plenty, but to think that a former human would be the one to see a human." I laughed and he joined in after a while. "I'm sorry I started having a go at you. I just thought that you would tell me everything, even if the thing was stupid I wouldn't leave your side. However, I am going to leave your side the moment I see Kudzu walk over here." I winked at him "I think I'll get going now. I'll be back soon, bye." I called as I strutted out of his home and went for a walk, specifically to where he and the others had met up before they went outside.**

**As I got closer I felt a psychic energy get stronger and stronger, but this psychic energy was far more pure and powerful than any I had come across before. However, I couldn't bring myself to venture to the source of the energy because it was outside of clan territory. "Why is it always when I find something interesting, I can't pursue it?" I asked myself rhetorically. I didn't know why, but the energy felt familiar, like I had felt it before, but I had never felt it quite as strong as this. 'Could it possibly be?' I asked myself, I didn't want to think it was true. The energy I was feeling was so strong that it was a possibility, but it was almost unthinkable to think that the energy is just a stronger version of what I felt when I was talking to the Jolteon, when I was talking to Mew.**

**I had never tried communicating with telepathy as far a distance as this before 'Mew, is that you releasing energy? I can feel it from where I am standing in clan territory.' For a moment I felt no response and the psychic energy had seemed to fade a little bit. However, soon after I had noticed the effect. **

'**Ah, it's nice to talk to you again my friend.** **It is me releasing the energy, but only because I had stored up far too much whilst staying at your clan. Say, why were some of your clan members outside territory last night? Have the rules loosened up?' she joked, of course she knew that they weren't meant to be there 'I noticed that one of them was young Chima. I have found a way to get rid of your problem if he became a human again.'**

'**And what might that be?' I asked.**

'**This will not sound nice, but one way is to….um, well, to cease his existence if you know what I mean.' She said cautiously and I was in shock, my mind froze and I couldn't think straight.**

'**I know that you are a deity, and such a widely known deity at that, but there must be a better option than death. No one in this clan that I know of would cause the death of one of our children anyway.' I argued.**

'**Your clan members wouldn't need to, although it wouldn't take a lot of persuasion. I could do it anyway. However, as long as he's inside the clan walls, he is safe and I won't try anything. However, he was lucky last time, because if he goes outside clan territory again, I will make sure that my plan does go into action. I know it seems dark and evil of me, but you have no idea how much this kind of thing really shouldn't happen.' I couldn't argue with that; I had no idea in the grand scheme of things what effect that a human turned pokemon would be, but to me there was still no excuse for a life to be taken. I wouldn't let Mew take a young one's life just because she doesn't like what could happen. Besides there was only a chance it was going to happen and that meant there was a chance it wasn't going to happen.**

'**I don't see why you're going to these lengths just in case he turns back into a human. You said it yourself; the last time it happened was a chance event, so what's to say that this 'chance' will occur again. I don't see why you're so worried and so prepared to cause the death of someone who doesn't even realise that they're at fault. It just doesn't seem fair.' I argued, putting my final points across and hoping that this would stop Mew's almost sadistically unfair idea from ever coming to fruition.**

'**I didn't think you would see it as it has to be. I must say, I do respect you Luctis, but it is what must be done. I know I said that it was a chance event last time, but the laws of irony will dictate that the chance event will arise again. I know this is hard to accept and I am sorry, but I do what must be done. I will leave your territory alone, but once outside you are at my mercy. I will leave you be for now. Farewell Luctis, I hope to meet you again sometime.' I heard the giggles in my mind getting fainter as I felt our telepathic connection break away. I could still feel the psychic energy that I knew would constantly be bugging me, but also would be a constant reminder to me that anyone who left the clan would now be in serious danger and if they weren't as sharp as usual then I was certain they would be facing their rather abrupt demise at the hands of the deity waiting for them.**

**I wanted to warn everyone, but how could I explain how the situation had came to be? It would draw too much attention and too many would be trying to see if I was tricking them; all of the consequences were a negative outcome and I didn't want to face that, it wouldn't make a difference to what Mew was planning anyway. I could still tell Frost though; I quickly darted away towards our home, I couldn't believe what had just happened and as I ran I found that these thoughts of all that had happened, they were carrying me all the way because before I knew it I was right in front of Frost's home. My thoughts were shattered when I heard a familiar voice shouting; Kudzu had finally got to him. I quickly read what Kudzu knew and found that Chima didn't say anything about Frost and that she wasn't directing the anger on him. She was just explaining how angry she was about the situation.**

**When I walked in Frost was the first to see me and he looked relieved that I was there, but before I could say anything I had Kudzu walk right next to me, teary eyed in frustration "I'm sorry Luctis, but Devin told me to take a break for today, but I can't go back there just yet. I need to prove a point to Chima." She said.**

**I tried to act innocent and as if this was the first time I'd heard of it "What's wrong with him?" I asked calmly. Kudzu backtracked as she remembered that she hadn't told me the tale. She told me every detail that I already knew from reading her mind, but I let her carry on so I wasn't rude; if there is one thing you don't want, it is an angry Kudzu with a grudge against you. "Well, I think what you're doing is probably the best way to handle it. I'll admit, I am surprised that he would do something like that, especially since you've been raising him so well." I told her everything she wanted to hear and that made her smile a little bit with pride, but it quickly turned back.**

"**I know, and that's why I'm so angry at myself as much as I am at Chima. What if I'm not raising him well enough? What if the way I am raising him has caused him to become such a troublemaker?" she began to panic, but Frost and I soon calmed her down "I love him to pieces, but it really gets to me when something like that happens. No, I can't keep this up, I've got to go back and be with him. Thank you both so much." She said through still teary eyes and then she dashed away, undoubtedly towards Chima.**

**Frost called me over "I hope you won't be like that if we ever decide to have children." He joked.**

"**I wouldn't even try to hide it." I joked back but caught him off guard, so we both laughed until it hurt "I'm not joking though." I said, trying to hold back any more laughter.**

**Devin's POV**

**I really couldn't quite understand why Kudzu was so upset about Chima going outside of clan territory. Sure, we don't allow it, but when Chima has a parent as adventurous as Kudzu then he's bound to pick up on her adventurous side, and as an Eevee he has curiosity levels beyond many others. I did feel sorry for Kudzu though, she told me how she waited for what seemed like ages, just waiting for Chima and it must really worry the mother when they don't know where their child is. She thought that someone may have taken Chima away and that she would never see him again. **

**I was surprised how Kudzu wasn't even the slightest bit angry towards Cada, despite the fact that he is older and should therefore be more responsible, but still both of them ventured outside without permission and at night. However, through all of her shouting about how disobedient Chima had been, I could still see that she loved him deeply, so I told her that she didn't have to work today. She needed to get back to Chima, and I needed some peace and quiet.**

**As I continued to check clan surroundings a certain Vaporeon crossed my path. "Ah, hello young Cada. I trust you slept well last night." I said and winked at him, wearing a smile because I was trying to hold back some laughter.**

**He looked at me a little uneasily "Uh, yeah, I slept fine Mister Devin… why do you ask?" he asked suspiciously. **

**I walked up to him and looked into his eyes with my own crimson ones "I know where you went last night and I know who you went with." Cada reeled back and looked terrified at me.**

"**Please don't tell those Umbreon that I rumbled them. I only went to look after Chima and Frost is innocent too, he was only making sure that we all did nothing stupid, honest." He scrambled over his words, but I just about understood him. I stepped closer again and he stepped backwards at the same rate until I told him to calm down, so I stepped even closer.**

**I was within reaching distance of him "I only get this close to speak so that no one else hears. I had no idea that Frost and other Umbreon were involved, I only thought it was you and Chima. Tell me why you went outside. I promise I won't tell Kudzu anything that I think she doesn't need to know, and you will remain anonymous on any information given to me. However, she'll probably know it was you, but don't worry about it. Now, I'll come and speak to you later about this, but for now I think it'd be best if you got going on your way." I winked and he quickly turned away and ran in the direction I saw him come from.**

**Moments after; I was greeted by another familiar presence. "Hey Devin. Where's Kudzu? I thought she was working with you today." Amara said, as upbeat as usual and it was good to hear it, rather than hearing anymore 'doom and gloom' news, just because I'm a dark type it doesn't mean that I like every bit of depressing news that comes around. I really hate being a good listener sometimes "You alright there buddy?" Amara giggled at my mind blank.**

**I shook myself free from it quickly and answered her "Yeah, Kudzu's been pretty upset today, so I told her that she can leave early." I got closer to her "Between you and me, I wouldn't have lasted much longer. I think she'll be at her home now if you're looking for her." I pointed in the direction to her home.**

"**Yeah, I guess I ought to see her; maybe I can ask her as well. Oh yeah, before I go, I need to ask you; have you seen Demyx? He's been gone since I got up and he usually comes back after his little walk in the morning. I'm getting a little bit worried, he hasn't been acting normal for the last few days actually, I don't know what's wrong." She sighed.**

**I gave her comforting tone "I'm sorry Amara, I haven't seen him yet, but if I do I promise that I'll tell him to look for you, and if he doesn't co-operate then heck, I'll drag him to you." I laughed and she giggled a little bit. "Now go one, go talk with Kudzu, she's gonna need someone like you to be with her at the moment."**

"**I don't know what you're talking about, but okay. I'll see you later." Then I was alone again, searching, scanning the area to check if it was still safe. I still didn't know how to feel about Kudzu's situation, I had so many conflicting thoughts about it. On one side I wanted to agree with Kudzu because Chima did break one of the clan rules, but on the other side I could see why Chima was so curious; he had been told of the danger, and despite the fact he'd already experienced them, I believe that he wanted to experience it more independently. However, I didn't know the full story, so I had to get my work done quickly so I could hear what Cada's timeline of events were. I would then go to Frost and ask him about it to; I had no doubt that Luctis was already aware of this due to her constant mind scanning of everyone, so I didn't need to worry much about her; it was only if Frost was willing to help me out.**

**Demyx's POV**

**I had been walking around, trying to clear my head. I had the strangest dream that I was being talked to by someone, but all I could hear them say was 'outside'. I really didn't know what to think of it; it was like there was someone actually trying to communicate to me. When I woke up I made so much noise that I woke Amara up and she looked at me a little bit surprised and then un-amused. "I'm just gonna go for a walk." I stated and I got up slowly, stretched myself out and then I walked out into the forest.**

**All I could hear in my head was the same voice from my dream, I didn't know whether I was just remembering it or if the voice was still there 'Outside, come outside.' It said to me this time. I was a little bit surprised that it began to say something other than 'outside', but not scared. I tried to ignore it as I walked through the forest by looking at the surrounding nature, but despite everything around me, the voice in my head almost seemed to blur anything I looked directly at. I couldn't explain it, it seemed like my mind had blocked out any visual stimulus, but somehow I managed to walk through without any problems.**

**After a while I could feel that something was different in the air, but I had no idea what had changed. As I felt the air change further I felt like I was no longer controlling my body, but instead I was being walked or controlled to wherever this strange controlling force was taking me. I didn't panic; I kept calm and let myself be guided. After what felt like forever because my 'controlled' walk reduced me to a pace significantly slower than I liked to go, I found myself approaching the cave system that leads in and out of clan territory. I mentally tried to fight whatever was controlling me when I found myself going into the cave system, but all of my efforts were futile because I didn't even seem to affect the force a little. I couldn't get up some of the ledges at the speed I was going, so I thought I would be fine. However, to my surprise I found that I was being lifted above the ground so that I could get over the ledges and gaps. I now knew that all of this was the work of psychic. I patiently waited until I was out of the cave system and for only the second time in my life, outside of clan territory.**

**The voice was still plaguing my mind, filling any space of which I could use to ignore it. However, now that I was out of clan territory I could hear the voice more clearly and I heard that it belonged to a female. Gradually I was brought to a small clearing and I was then released from my hold. I seized the opportunity to dash away, but as soon as I reached the edge of the clearing I hit a psychic wall. "Come on now, you don't even know why I've brought you here." A voice said, the same voice that had been in my head was now actually talking to and I thought I had literally gone delusional. I stood up and looked around, but I couldn't see anything, so I really did think I was going delusional. "Look up." the voice said and I did as instructed and was shocked when I saw none other than the great goddess herself, Mew.**

"**But…..you're….why?" was all I could say and she simply giggled as she floated round me.**

**She stopped right in front of me and got very close, making me feel uncomfortable "Have you noticed that things in your life have been getting harder ever since say… just under two weeks ago?" she asked and I was a little taken back by her question.**

**However, when I thought about it, she was right, about two weeks ago I found that I was feeling more pressured in my role as a guild member, but also I felt pressure from everyone else as my duties as a mate to Amara. I didn't know why, but I suddenly found more pressure building from about that time ago. "Yeah, I guess you're right, but why are you asking?"**

**She started doing loops in the air but carried on talking "Tell me Demyx, what also took place at around that time?" she asked, but I could tell she knew the answer.**

**The more I thought about it, the more sense it made to me. She was hinting at Chima's arrival, I was sure of it. "That's when Kudzu brought Chima back into the clan; Chima was…." I was interrupted as her thoughts rose into my mind 'I know who Chima is and I know that it really is no coincidence that things have started to go wrong for you ever since he has been there. I can assure you that he has been a bad luck charm somewhat to you.' What Mew was telling me was starting to make sense, ever since Chima arrived I've felt like my life has been falling apart and nothing has stopped it. Every time Chima has been around, the clan has seemed to be under more strain as well, and I needed to think about the safety of the whole clan rather than one little kit. 'I think it has become obvious to me what you need to do. Bring the child to me and then we can take care of your problem.' She said to me, each word more tempting than the last 'I can guarantee that things will only get better if you succeed. However, if you decide not to then I can see why, sacrificing your own happiness in life to help, no wait, save another.'**

**I looked at her and grinned evilly "Oh trust me, the clan can survive without one kit. 'Accidents' happen sometimes, and this kit may decide that he would like to take a walk outside of territory with me. Whether he likes it or not is another matter, but I guess we'll just have to see." I laughed manically as I prepared for what I was about to do. I was going to wait until everyone was asleep and then take Chima back to Mew and solve all my problems forever and I can go back to being my old self, respected and collected; at the top of the hierarchy in the clan.**

**A/N: **Well Demyx has gone a bit crazy now, but it's all part of my plan. I'll update soon after I get back on the 16th August. Please Review, although guest reviews might wanna consider the fact that I have a 36 hour period after they're sent in which I can moderate them, but I think there is wi-fi where I'm going. Again, please review and I'll update after I get back some time. Bye **nuld want to see you as well, and they would be disappointed ind out of his mindmeone your ageed i e**


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